


Call It Fate

by Bea_the_Bee



Category: Homestuck
Genre: College, F/F, F/M, Love, M/M, break ups, i'm a piece of shit who can't update to save her life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-05-09 18:42:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 29,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5551196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bea_the_Bee/pseuds/Bea_the_Bee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's one a.m. on a Thursday night (morning?) when Karkat's presence was "blessed" by the oh so irritating Dave Strider. At first, neither one thinks anything of the encounter, besides the mutual "Oh shit, he's hot" moment, but when they both attend a New Year's Eve party, both boys begin to notice the undeniable ties between their lives. How could they not have noticed these before?<br/>""Dude, this is insane. How could we have gone so long without knowing one another?"<br/>"Well, I don't know about you, but I knew you existed a long time ago. I just never cared to meet you."<br/>"Aw, for real. That hurts, bro. Right here, in my lung."<br/>"You're so weird, oh my god."<br/>****<br/>Slow editing, Updates on Sundays<br/>All rights to characters belongs to Andrew Hussie<br/>((READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Informational Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Technically, this isn't really a chapter, just some information on the relationships between some of the characters in here.

    There’s probably going to be a lot of confusion over the family situations coming up pretty soon so I wanted to warn you guys here and also fill you in on them. There will also be information on the relationships and friendships here. Feel free to skip it now, but if you’re ever confused later on, just pop back in and see if your question can be answered. If it can’t, leave me a comment and I’ll gladly answer it for you.  
    **Egberts/Harleys/Crockers/Englishs:** Jade and John are twins; their mom died just a few short months after they were born, leaving Dad to take care of them. Jane is their older sister and Jake is their cousin, though he lives nearby. The family has two grandparents alive. A grandmother on their mom’s side and a grandfather on their Dad’s side.  
    **Striders/Lalondes:** Bro and Mom Lalonde are known as Davis and Rita in this universe, and are married. Davis is the older brother of Dirk and Dave (Dirk’s older than Dave.) Rita is the older sister of Roxy and Rose (again, Roxy is older than Rose). It’s only mentioned a few times what happened to their parents because none of them like to talk about it. They’re all step siblings, but treat each other as if they’ve been together for life. No grandparents and that’s pretty much all to say on their family.  
    **The Midnight Crew:** The midnight crew adopted Karkat, Sollux, Aradia and Tavros and raised them as siblings, so they’re hella tight. Since the Midnight crew is essentially a gang, they all grew up around violence. Sollux and Aradia try to avoid it as much as possible since it brings back bad memories for both of them. Karkat and Tavros are less effected by scenes of violence, but also prefer to shy away from it if possible.  
    **Snowball:** She adopted Vriska as her daughter around the same time as the Midnight Crew adopted their children, just to prove a point that she could raise a child better than they could. After Vriska paralyzed Tavros and got her arm blown off, and her eye blown out, she became a bit of a reclusive and only ever went to events she knew Terezi was going to.  
    Gamze has never gone on a killing spree, though he has on a couple of occasions harmed others when off of his prescribed weed.  
    Gamzee and Nepeta are in a relationship, because crack ships, am I right?  
    Nepeta and Equius are cousins and have always been as close as brother and sister.  
Nepeta’s family moved into a house close to The Midnight Crew’s home base, so she also got to grow up with Karkat, Aradia, Sollux and Tavros. She and Equius were practically extended family.  
    Kanaya and Rose are obviously together, I could never split those two babies up. Though they are the exact same age as pretty much everyone else, they behave like moms almost. Constantly doting, wanting to know what’s going on in their friends’ lives. But they’re always careful not to overstep their boundaries.  
Karkat, Aradia, Sollux and Tavros are all known by their peers as “the Midnight Crew kids” since it’s easier than saying all of their names.  
Kankri, Latula, Mituna and Rufioh are distant relatives the Midnight Crew kids and will probably be mentioned every now and then as their cousins, though nobody really knows their relation.  
    Frigglish is a veterinarian who has taken Roxy under his wing to teach her the ins and outs of running your own business.  
    The Striders and Lalondes all used to live in the city but moved to a smaller town to get away from all of the “hussle and bussle” as Rita calls it. Dirk, Dave, Roxy and Rose moved along as well because some good colleges were in the area and they needed to make sure Davis and Rita didn’t end up popping out another sibling.  
    Jake is like the kooky uncle to everyone here and please do not expect me to write too much into his character (I don’t know why, but I just don’t like him a whole lot. . . I think he feels just a little too dumb. . . maybe that’s just me though.)  
    And that should pretty much cover it. The rest will hopefully be written about in the story so I hope you were educated! You may continue!


	2. One A.M. Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised this story on my Wattpad account forever and a decade ago, so here it finally is!

    Karkat sighed as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand. His deep brown eyes were half lidded and glossy with sleep deprivation. His body slumped against the marble counter in front of him, seemingly ready to collapse. 

    He normally didn't mind his late night shifts at the local grocery store; not many people came in and those who did were usually blissfully silent and did not tempt his anger. However, after (finally) completing his final week of college before his thankfully long winter break, he was exhausted. The work near the end had been grueling.

    "This is ridiculous; who's ever heard of someone coming to a bakery at one o'clock in the morning?" he grumbled out tiredly. "I just wanna sleep." He crossed his arms on the counter and placed his chin on them. He wasn't talking to anyone since he usually covered for the lazy asses who didn't care enough to come in. He couldn't blame them; if it weren't for the fact that he needed to eat that week and couldn't risk getting caught off duty, he would be right along with them. 

    His eyes began to drift more and more closed by the second, and he delighted in the thought of perhaps finally getting enough sleep to actually get him through the day. He was very nearly there, just in that slightly uncomfortable and irritating area where you're partially aware that you're falling asleep and at the same time just want to get there.

    But then fate had to come strolling in with a pair of sunglasses. 

    The store had an odd set up: by the front door were produce and most of the checkouts, plus the return center where a specific stoner usually sat, playing his music way too loud for comfort. A little farther in and there were a bunch of freezers along the walls with milk, butter, cheese, eggs, etc. lining the shelves. Then, at the very far back were a few glass walls and a door which led to the bakery/cafe sort of place. The place was a common corner store that helped out the community as best it could by having cheap prices and fairly good quality food. 

    Karkat liked working at the bakery part of the store because of the people that worked alongside him and the customers. 

   Excusing a few of the assholes that would come in for their daily muffins and pastries and such, the people that came in were fairly nice and polite to Karkat. They would say thanks and tip generously before going along on their way. At night there was hardly anybody coming in. 

    Karkat's coworkers consisted of Jane, the owner's daughter, Feferi, who'd gotten the job just to piss off her mom who owned a huge baking company, Terezi and Sollux who didn't give enough of a fuck to show up half of the time and then there was John, Jane's younger brother. He was a nice kid, a year or two younger than the others. He'd gotten the job like Jane had, using a family connection and mostly just hung around, eating whatever was available  _except_  for cake. God knows why he hates it, the shit's fucking delicious, but I guess that's just another reason why he's a weirdo.

    "Yo." a smooth voice spoke. Karkat winced at the crack in the silence, but remained otherwise still. "Hey." it said again. A low growling noise escaped Karkat's throat, still not moving. "You sleepin' on the job, or what, 'cause I have to get a cake ASAP and I don't have time to be makin' it on my own." the voice prodded, revealing a Southern accent that was foreign and rare to find in the middle of Washington, especially during the winter.

    Karkat lifted his head up to glare furiously at the Texan man who had robbed him of his sleep. He was met with platinum blonde hair, incredibly pale skin and a pair of sun glasses. The man's face was slender and chiseled. Karkat couldn't say much for the guy's body since most of it was covered in a thick winter coat and the rest was just skinny jeans.

    "Ah, so he lives." Shades said sarcastically. "Now, about that cake." 

    Karkat grumbled angrily and stood up straight. "What do you want, asshat?" He asked rather loudly. A single blonde eyebrow was arched over the avatars. 

    "Asshat? Is that any way to treat a customer?" He lifted a single scolding finger. "Should I tell a manager on you, mister?" Suddenly he was talking to Karkat like he was a toddler who'd spilled his juice on someone's head.

    Karkat gave him a strange look, but snarled soon afterwards. "Just choose a cake and tell me what the hell you want on It." he snapped, impatient. The guy on the other side of the counter withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket. He turned his attention to the large book with the different cake flavors, sizes, the kinds of frosting you could get, and more. There were some birthday cakes in there with those little candy action figure things as well as some of that edible printer picture stuff on them that featured everything from Transformers to The Princess Frog. Karkat took a deep breath and turned around to start gathering some frosting. The cakes were already pre-made, stored in a large industrial sized freezer. All you really needed was the frosting and decorations. 

    "Gimme a marble cake with vanilla frostin' on it and blue around the edges. I'll tell you what to put on it when that's done." Shades said flatly.  

    "Okay, just take a seat and wait." Karkat commanded, slipping on his jacket that was hung by the freezer. He always left it there since it made it a lot easier not to freeze your ass off while you searched for the right cake. It was just a normal freezer with normal temperatures, but it was huge. He grumbled unintelligibly to himself as he started searching for the chocolate and vanilla marble cakes. He heard some footsteps out by the counter and commons area and knew that Shades must've taken a seat like he'd been told to. 

**Dave's POV:**

    There were some soft grumbles and angry cuss words being mumbled the entire time Dave sat there. He chuckled to himself.  _Geez, this guy is so pissy._ He thought to himself.  _Is this really the guy John had wanted me to meet?_ Dave thought back to earlier that week when John had gone on and on and on about this "Karkat" dude. Again.

    "He keeps on wanting me to eat cake, but I just don't want to. One time, he actually tackled me and tried to force the cake into my mouth! He's insane, I swear!" John said as Dave nodded and made a noise of agreement, trying to concentrate on his video game. "And he's angry literally all the time. I don't think I've seen him smile once." 

    "How's he not been fired by now if that's the case?" Dave asked, grunting angrily as he lost yet another game.  _Stupid computers. It's not even fair, they know all of the moves while we've got to figure them all out for ourselves._ He grumbled to himself as he shut off the console, deciding to actually talk to John for a while. 

    "Well, he's kind of the only one who actually works. Terezi and Sollux aren't there too often and since Jane is still in college she only works in the afternoons. Feferi shows up whenever; she pretty much just does her own thing most of the time, but keeps the job to make her mom mad. And Karkat works nights and pretty much any other time that doesn't interfere with his classes. But, I think he's graduating this year." John went on. Dave furrowed his brows in confusion. 

    "So this guy's like, the angriest dude you know, right?" he asked. John nodded. "And the only reason he hasn't been fired is because he works hard." Dave recapped. John nodded again. "I'm kind of having a hard time believing that. I mean, if he's super rude to the customer's, wouldn't he just be fired? Can't they find somebody better?" 

    John shrugged.

    "Alright, I've got to see this dude for myself."

    And that landed him in the position he was now. He watched from a distance as Karkat stumbled out of the freezer, shivering. He set the cake on the counter and stripped himself of his jacket, hanging it back up on its hook by the metal door. He dug around through a large bin in the corner of the kitchen until he pulled out a few tubes of icing. "Alright, what do you want on it?" he barked after smoothing a large amount of frosting over the top of the cake. Dave allowed himself a small smirk as he stood back up and walked over to the counter.

    “Hmm, let’s see. . .” he rubbed his chin as though in thought. He kept the act up for as long as he could, pretending to think about it while actually scanning the snooty boy behind the counter. His arms were crossed across his chest as he tapped his foot impatiently. Large black bags sagged underneath his mahogany brown eyes that, despite relaying anger, twinkled with curiosity. His lips were curled up into a scowl that added a touch of severity to his appearance, but only a little. His hair was an unkempt mess that seemed to defy the laws of gravity, sticking up every which way and getting in his face. Dave tried to keep his thoughts straight, but he could not resist the gay thoughts because, _Oh shit, he’s hot._

    Dave cursed John in the back of his mind for not mentioning that Karkat was _attractive,_ this was so unfair. _Dammit, dammit,_ dammit _! Why’d he have to go and be cute, goddamn, this is so not cool, oh shit, was I staring? What if he noticed? No, he couldn’t have, your shades dipshit. Oh god, he’s saying something._

    Dave’s internal panic was luckily paused in its tracks by a gruff voice clearing its throat. Dave’s head snapped up to him. “So are you going to ask for something on it, or am I just going to be sending you packing with a blank cake?” He asked, sarcasm permanent in his voice. _I wonder if that’s how he always sounds or if he’s actually sarcastic all of the time._ Dave found himself pondering.

    Dave remained silent, causing Karkat to raise an eyebrow at him. “Hello? You alive in there? I asked you if you actually want something on the fucking cake.” He waved a hand in front of Dave’s shades, emphasizing that he was tired of waiting.

    “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just put, “To the Derp-iest Nic Cage Fan in the World” in dark blue frostin’.” Dave said, hoping he didn’t lose too much of his cool there. Karkat snorted a bit of laughter as he grabbed the white tube of frosting.

    “” The Derp-iest Nic Cage Fan?” If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were talking about one of my coworker’s younger brother, John. Man that kid has a problem.” Karkat chuckled, shaking his head as he skillfully scrawled the words out onto the cake, smiling to himself as he did so. “He hates cake though, so it must be for someone else.” He mumbled to himself. Dave smirked.

    “No, it’s for him.” Karkat looked up at him, surprised. “John’s like, my best bro. This is his birthday cake.”

    “Uh, but isn’t his birthday in April?” Karkat asked, finishing up with the letterings. He placed a seal of sorts onto the frosting tubes and tossed them back into the plastic bucket behind him. (Dirty, dirty minds, get your brains out of the gutter, not like that!) Dave smirked and shook his head. “Course it is. But it’s like this running joke that we have. I get him a cake five months before his birthday and another one five months after; he does the same for me.” He answered. It wasn’t a complete lie; it used to be a thing that they did. But that had been years ago. They’d long since stopped doing it after realizing that cakes cost a lot of money, money they needed to buy other things like internet or actual, healthy food.

    Karkat gave him a strange look, like he was thinking hard. “Hold on a goddamn minute, you’re him, aren’t you? You’re that fucking Strider guy that John blabs about all the time. You’re him, aren’t you?” Karkat asked while not really asking. His voice was accusing, like he knew that the answer was yes already.

**Karkat’s POV:**

    _Goddammit. John could’ve at least mentioned that he was hot._ Karkat thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him.

    Dave smirked again and said, “Ah, so the little dweeb talks about me? I feel so honored.” He held his hand out to Karkat. “Dave Strider, at your service.”

    Karkat cautiously took his hand and shook it.

    “Karkat Vantas.” Was his reply.

    “I know.”

    Karkat blinked. He felt an uncomfortable rush of cool air hit his hand where Dave had been holding it once they let go. His hands had been cold to begin with; freezers weren’t exactly a tropical paradise and due to it being cold outside the owners kept the thermostat down more than the workers would prefer, but it was only to save some money. Dave’s hand had been warm though, skin nice and smooth. He brushed off that weird though quickly though and turned around to go digging in the back for one of those case things they used to put over the cake so it wouldn’t get ruined or anything.

    “And just how the hell would you know that?” he asked over his shoulder, rummaging around and making quite a bit of noise.

    “I’m not the only one John talks about.” Dave mused. “The kid could go on and on about you and he has already.” He didn’t know why, but knowing that this stranger already knew a few things about him through a certain high schooler sort of freaked him out.

    Karkat stood up straight after finding the right sized case and put the cake in. “Alright, that’ll be $12.58.” Karkat spoke, dropping the topic before it got out of hand. He just wanted this Strider guy out of his hair and out of his life.

    Dave paid and grabbed the cake, ready to walk out before he turned around. “It was really nice meeting you, Karkat.” He said smoothly before disappearing out of the store faster than humanly possible, leaving a puzzled and intrigued Karkat behind.          


	3. Persuasion Tactics and Tears

    “Kaaaarkaaaaaat!” Jade and John both whined in unity, latching themselves onto the short boy’s arms. “You _have_ to come to the New Year’s party!” Jade pouted.

    “Yeah!” her twin agreed just before getting flung to the floor.

    “No I do fucking _not!_ I have better things to be doing tonight than standing around in a room full of sweaty, drunk teenagers showing massive PDA. Like working. Or sleeping.” He growled at them, crossing his arms defiantly.

    “You don’t have to work tonight! It’s a holiday! Besides, you’re not _supposed_ to be sleeping on New Year’s Eve.” John stood up and dusted off his jeans before yanking Jade to her feet.

    “Oh, really?” Karkat asked, his more sarcastic tone seeping into every word he spoke. “And just what _are_ you supposed to be doing on New Year’s Eve? Please, do educate me on the proper way to spend December 31st.”

    “Well, you’re supposed to enter the new year surrounded by family and friends!” John answered literally.

    “There are so many, _many_ things wrong with that. One of them being I don’t know anybody there!” Karkat shouted at them. They stared at him, unfazed by his temper. After spending so much time with him at their dad’s crappy little corner store, Karkat’s little outbursts no longer startled the overzealous siblings. “Yeah you will!” Jade protested childishly.

    The word “childish” could pretty much sum up their entire family.

    “You’ll know me and John! And Jane’s gonna be there! And Sollux, and Terezi and Kanaya and pretty much all of your friends!” She seemed to be getting excited just talking about it.

    “The answer’s still _no!_ ” Karkat shouted before heading for the door of the coffee shop he had once been peacefully enjoying himself in. He didn’t always enjoy coffee, but unfortunately, the need of caffeine in his sleepless body was far too great to simply ignore. He’d just been sitting there, drinking his expresso and waiting for the caffeine to kick-start his brain . . . And then in walked the terrible twins and the whole day felt wrecked. It almost seemed like the start of a horror movie the way they crept up behind him only to pounce and beg for him to accept their invitation.

    His abandoned expresso and blueberry muffin still sat at his table, but he found that he didn’t care enough to grab them and take them with. He instead decided to leave, get to his apartment complex as soon as humanly possible and lock himself in his room for the next week.

    He didn’t like going out for the holidays; it always felt too crowded or like he was in the way or that he wasn’t there at all. And he’d already made the terrible mistake once this year to go to a party with his friends on Christmas. The night basically ended with Eridan and Sollux sloppily making out, Nepeta being carried home by Equius since she blacked out from drinking too much, and everyone else playing a very drunk game of Go Fish until they got bored and left.

    “Hey Karkat!” John called after him just before he got to the door. Karkat looked over his shoulder at the high-schooler. “Dave’s gonna be there.” He said. His face crooked into an awkward, half smirk, half grin that was the closest thing to a smug expression Karkat had ever seen the dweeb pull off.

    It took him a second to remember just who the hell Dave was – their last encounter had taken place around two weeks prior – but when he did he still felt his face crinkle into confusion. “Okay, why the fuck would that change my mind?” he asked. John just shrugged, breaking out of the smirk/smile to just grin. He stretched his mouth wide enough that his two big front teeth were visible. Even after two years with braces, they still stuck out over his bottom lip when he grinned in a certain way.

    “Just thought you might want to know.” He said simply. Jade giggled and seemed to understand what John was implying. Karkat shot them both a strange look before flipping them off and walking out the door.

    _Stupid, goddamn twins. . ._ He thought to himself as he headed in the direction of his apartment.

~-~-~

    “Fuck.” Karkat sighed with relief as he sank into the warm embrace of the overly squishy couch he and his roommate shared. They’d gotten it for a great deal since the people selling it said it smelled like weed. Even better for them though; Gamzee was a well-known druggie. But then again, he kind of _had_ to be. Either way, he could somehow always get kicked out and/or banned from numerous hotels or apartment complexes in a matter of weeks, at most, so he would usually end up being soothed to sleep on that couch.

    Countless nights had been spent with Karkat falling asleep to the sound of the stoner’s snores out in the living room. You would think with so many things irritating him that the snoring would surely be one of them, but you’d be wrong; Karkat found it comforting, knowing that the stoner wasn’t going to just get up and leave in the middle of the night and do God knows what like he so feared. And besides, nobody could make scrambled eggs like Gamzee, so it was all good.

    “Hey, I wasn’t expecting you home so soon!” Nepeta’s voice quietly chirped from down the hall. Karkat sat up and looked at her. She was doing that weird reach around thing to put in one of her long, dangly feather earrings. She looked nice, all dressed up for something. Green eyeshadow caked her eyelids and a fresh coat of her favorite green lip stick had been smeared onto her lips. A tight black tank top clung to her torso and a purposefully torn pair of skinny jeans wrapped her legs. She was certainly a sight to see; quite the contrary could be said for Karkat’s baggy sweaters and oversized jeans that barely stayed on him.

    “Neither was I. But I apparently made the brilliant decision that “Hey! Y’know what? I actually want to stay home, where I’ve been for the past week instead of going out and enjoying the wonderful company of people!”” he quipped, his voice practically dripping with sarcasm. He tried to refrain from swearing as much as possible when home. Being a big ball of rage 24/7 could actually be quite taxing on one’s energy.

    Nepeta chuckled. “Well, that’s what you normally do.” She finished putting in her earring and walked over to the couch, leaning on the back of it. “Ah, and here I was, hoping you’d actually get to meet new people and let me have the place to myself for once.” She crossed her arms on it and placed her chin on them. A smug smile was glued to her lips.

    “Don’t you mean “ _fur_ ” once?” Karkat teased.

    “Oh, come on Vantas!” she stood up straight again. “You know I haven’t made a cat pun in _years_ , let it go already!” she giggled.

    “Nope. I’m going to make you pay for forcing me to listen to each and every one of them for seven years _straight._ ”

    “You’re such an ass.” She shook her head, her light and fluffy black hair bouncing from side to side.

    “Damn straight, bitch.” Karkat laid back down on the couch and crossed his arms behind his head, a self-righteous look plastered to his face.

    This was normal banter for the two; they’d started out as best friends ever since they’d met in high school. Becoming roommates just seemed like the natural thing to do for them.

    “Hm. Well. You’d better get ready quick.” Nepeta smiled down at him. “Roxy asked me to come play for a party they’re throwing tonight and I just couldn’t refuse.” Nepeta squealed, bouncing from foot to foot.

    “Who’s they?”

    “Oh, you know. Dirk, Roxy, Rose, Dave, the Egberts too, I think. Those guys.”

    There it was again. That name. _Dave._

    “Oookaay . . .?” Karkat glanced up at the overly excited girl standing over him. “And how does you hooking a gig for once correlate to me going with you?”

    “Oh, c’mon Karkat! You know you’re the best singer in all of the Milky Way!” Nepeta leaned her elbows onto the back of the couch again, putting her chin in her hands. She always used flattery on Karkat; when they were younger it usually worked, up until the point where Karkat realized she was manipulating him. “And I already told everyone that you were coming along! Pleeeease?!” She whined, her eyes getting wider and her lip quivering into a pout. She batted her mascara covered eyelashes a couple of times, just for effect.

    “Stick that lip out a bit farther and a big blue bird might just come along and poop on it.” Karkat grumbled, adjusting his arms so that one of them laid across his chest and the other covered his eyes.

    “Ugh. You’re impossible.” She groaned, giving up the act.

    “Nope. Pretty sure the name’s Karkat.” He peeked up at her from under his arm. “How long have we been friends?”

    Nepeta groaned again and Karkat just chuckled. He was the ultimate master of dad jokes. Meaning every single one of his puns ended up with him laughing and everybody else telling him to shut up. “But for real, you have to come.” She told him.

    “Nope.”

    “This isn’t up for debate.”

    “Nuh-uh.”

    “You’re going.”

    “Not happening.”

    “It’s final.”

    “No.”

    “Yes.”

    “No.”

    “Yes!”

    “ _No._ ”

    “You’re coming along, Vantas.”

    “N.”

    “I’ll force you.”

    “O.”

    “Karkat!”

    “Nepeta!”

    “Why are you so against this?” Nepeta leaned far over the back of the couch, her hair curling just around her jaw as she glared down at her roommate. She clenched her teeth when she talked and tightened her jaw. Even if she was dressed up like a model in a high end fashion magazine, she looked like she could bitch-slap the life out of somebody, right then and there.

    “Why are you so for it?” He asked loudly, finally taking his arm off of his head. His eyes to meet Nepeta’s steely gaze.

    “I asked you first.” She practically growled at him.

    “And I asked you second, glad we got that out of the way.”

    “Augh!” Nepeta exclaimed, tangling her fingers through her previously perfectly brushed hair. She sighed and slumped her back against the couch, sliding to the ground with her knees up to her chest. She was far beyond the end of her rope. Karkat tended to have that effect on her.

    Guilt rose from his toes to rest firmly on the center of his chest when he heard her uneven breathing. He sat up and slung his legs over the side of the couch to rest his still Converse clad feet onto the floor. Nepeta was usually the type to cry when overly frustrated or stressed and Karkat was typically the type to _cause_ frustration and stress; how the two had managed to remain roommates for so long still puzzled the rest of their friends, but to each other it was no mystery.

    Forgive and Forget was the lifeblood of their friendship.

    “Is this about -” Nepeta started in a much softer and calmer voice.

    “I’m going to stop you there before you finish.” Karkat cut her off. He sighed, covering his eyes. “No. It’s not that.” He mumbled out.

    Nepeta chuckled, trying to make the situation a little less dire. “Could’ve fooled me.”

    A long pause stretched out into the apartment, leaving the pair to just sit with their backs to each other.

    “I’m worried about you, Karkitty.” Nepeta murmured into the fabric of her favorite, neon green jacket that she only wore for special occasions. Karkat’s head rose from his hands. She only very rarely used her old nickname for him. “You never leave the apartment for anything other than work and school. You’ve hardly been eating anything; and don’t try to lie to me, I’ve noticed the protein shake bottles.” Karkat’s eyes widened. _How could she have. . ._ he began to wonder to himself. He usually hid them in the trash pretty well.

    His thoughts were cut off as Nepeta continued to talk. “Everyone else is worried about you, too. Kanaya hasn’t seen you in weeks and Sollux doesn’t even know if you’re alive anymore.” Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence.

    All of what she was saying was sadly true. Karkat _hadn’t_ been eating a whole lot; the protein shakes and bars made up for that, though. Just enough nutrients to make sure his muscles didn’t collapse or that his brain didn’t completely go cu-put, but not enough to help him keep up a balanced weight. And leaving the house was almost entirely out of the question. He just didn’t have enough energy to go around. Go to school, get to work, hang out with friends, eat enough, sleep enough, monitor his mental and physical health, make sure he wasn’t stressing out too much, keep in touch with his family, and balance it all without collapsing? Not always the easiest feat.

    “Aradia looked it up.” Nepeta continued. Karkat shuffled so that he was sitting on his knees, leaning over the back of the couch to look down at the now pitiful ball of color that he called a roommate. “She found this website that said you were -”

    “I’m not depressed.” Karkat interrupted her again. She looked up at him, a little bit of her mascara and eyeliner running down cheeks. Nepeta had cheekbones that made plastic surgeons weep at not being able to create something so beautiful and natural. He reached down and rubbed a little bit off with his thumb. “I’ve just been really stressed lately.” He rubbed the makeup into the skin of his fingers and crossed his arms. “I’ll go with you to the party.”

    “Really?” she asked, instantly cheering up a bit. Her facial features lit up. Her hazel eyes brightened as a smile slowly slid across her tiny lips. He thought about it sometimes, how it was such a shame that he was queer; if he were otherwise, he’d probably be dating Nepeta. She was a really nice, incredibly beautiful, talented, funny, interesting person that he knew well. In fact, even if he was just bisexual, he’d probably still end up with her. She’d had the biggest, silliest crush on him for years until he finally confronted her and said that he was gay.

    “Yep. But if I found out that you were manipulating me this entire time, that’s it. I’m done. I’ll get a taxi, I’ll hitch a ride, I’ll _walk_ home if I have to, but I won’t let you drive me home.”

    Nepeta sniffed and rubbed at her eyes, smudging makeup all along her eyelids, making her look like a raccoon. She stood up as she did so and turned to face him. “Oh, Karkitty, I could never do that to you.” She grinned and held out her arms for a hug. He gladly met her in the middle.

    “We care a lot about you, Karkat.” She whispered to him.

    “Yeah, I know. I care about you guys, too.” He whispered back to her.

    Nepeta pulled away slightly, still holding him in place gently by the shoulders. “But do you care about yourself?” She inquired, still in a hushed voice.

    Karkat remained silent.

    _Way to make a guy think, Nep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I didn't mean for it to get that deep or serious. . . Honestly, I just wanted some cute, playful banter between Karkat and Nepeta, I never intended for it to escalate to . . . that.


	4. Woo That Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dave makes a deal to help Jade woo Feferi and almost nothing of importance happens

**Dave’s POV**

    “Dave, I think we would both appreciate it if you stopped. Pouting. Like a _baby_.” Terezi teased from the back seat, emphasizing each word by prodding the boy in the passenger seat with the tip of her walking cane. He swatted the stick away from him.

    “I am _not. Pouting._ ” Dave protested, crossing his arms angrily.

    “On the contrary, David.” His step-sister piped in from the drivers’ seat. She sent him a smirk and a side glance, leaning far over the glove box in between their seats to whisper-shout, “You most definitely are.”

    “Now all you’re missing is the diaper, the bib and the binky!” Terezi howled with laughter, her entire body shaking with every “ha.” Her rather pudgy-ish body strained against her seat belt as she tried to lay down across the seats.

    “That’s not funny.” Dave grumbled back to her defensively. On any other occasion, he’d just shrug it off and laugh along with her. But today was not just any other occasion.

    Neither girl was listening to him, too busy laughing at the mediocre joke and paying attention to the busy road. “Damn Washington drivers. . .” Dave heard Rose mumble under her breath. When even Rose got road rage, you had to know that the traffic was entirely awful. Having grown up and learned how to drive in New York City certainly gave her an advantage on how to keep her cool and drive carefully. But on a night like tonight with everyone rushing to get home, to parties or to some other random event, even she was wearing thin.

    Dave sat back in his seat and stared out the window, trying to calm his nerves and smooth the edges of his cool kid façade by watching the familiar scenery flash by. They’d been down this road too many times to count, and always to visit their good friends, the Egberts.

    Dave replayed what had happened earlier in his head, making sure he hadn’t misinterpreted something.

    Roxy and Dirk had gone ahead of them to help set up, leaving their younger siblings home alone to take a little bit more time to get prepared before driving over themselves. They had agreed to picking up Terezi and bringing her along since her older sister was going out with her boyfriend to celebrate New Year’s Eve and couldn’t drive her. They were already about halfway there when the older Strider and Lalonde siblings called them up with some unfortunate news.

    “Sorry, bro; turns out Roxy already asked some of her other friends to perform for tonight.” Dirk sighed into the phone. Some complaining and whining could be heard in the background.

    “I’m so sorry Davey! If I’d remembered, you were looking forward to it I wouldn’t have -” Roxy wailed.

    “Oh, Roxy, please don’t cry! You’re ruining your makeup!” Jane doted, obviously flustered and unaware of what exactly to do to soothe her friend.

    “Calm down, Jane, she’s fine. Just making this a bigger deal than it is.” Dirk’s voice got far away from the phone for a moment before returning to the call. “Sorry Dave, maybe next time?”

    Dave hated this. He’d been preparing remixes, raps and actually original content since October and was simply ecstatic at being able to share a few of his own with a large number of people. DJ-ing was his dream, his passion. But now none of that was going to happen.

    He couldn’t say that he blamed Roxy for forgetting. He’d been keeping pretty secretive about the whole thing, so it probably slipped more than a few people’s minds.

    The people playing were probably crap anyways. He’d get to laugh at Roxy for hiring such a terrible performance and she’d feel silly for ever choosing somebody other than Dave. He assured himself with these thoughts until by the time they reached the mansion the Egberts called home, he felt a hell of a lot more confident.

    Rose parked the car in front of the house and they all got out. Dave straightened the nonexistent wrinkles out of his outfit, which consisted of a black t-shirt, a pair of his favorite skinny jeans and a somewhat formal red jacket that looked like it should have been paired up with a suit rather than this ensemble. Rose was the first to get to the front step, waiting for Dave to pull Terezi out of the car. She was still giggling, but quieter, like she couldn’t stop it; like she was drunk on laughter.

    The door was flung open before any of them could even knock. “You guys made it!” Jade squealed, grinning that trademark grin that all of the Egberts had. She bounced up and down, forcing the heavy ponytail on the back of her head to sway. She was wearing something traditionally Jade-like; nothing too fancy, but nothing that could be called underdressed. A baggy black sweater hung from her shoulders with pictures of daisies and sunflowers stitched along the bottom and sleeves. Her ordinary jeans were retired for the night and instead replaced with a pair of tight fitting grey leggings.

    “Barely.” Rose sighed, though her face was lighted with a small calm smile. “You wouldn’t believe the drivers out there.”

    Jade laughed like it was the funniest joke she’d ever heard.

    But then again, she always laughed like that.

    It was always funny watching Jade laugh. With Terezi, it was funny because she would clutch her stomach and double over, most of the time actually laying down on the ground and rolling all over the place, no matter where they were, but only if the joke was funny enough. With Jade, no matter what she’d laugh out loud. Cover her mouth with her hand and when she laughed there would be these short little snorts in between. It took Dave _years_ just to figure out how not to laugh along with her.

    “I believe it; they can be so dumb sometimes.” She sighed, wiping her eyes from behind her Harry Potter-esque glasses.

    “Jade! Is that the guests at the door?” Jane’s voice called from inside. She stepped into view only seconds afterwards and what a sight she was to see.

    Her pixie-cut hair was clipped back from her face, only a few curls allowed to frame her cheekbones. Her rather voluptuous body fit snuggly into a baby blue dress that made her eyes stand out so much they practically glowed. The top fitted her comfortably, but the skirt of the dress was a whole nother story. Flared out in all different directions, ending just above her knees. A belt separated the skirt from the top and a tiny black jacket was the cherry on top. She looked _fantastic._

    She took one look out the doorway and instantly her ruby red lip sticked lips curled into a side-ways frown. “My goodness, you’re freezing out there! Come in, come in, get warm.” She tugged on Rose and Terezi’s wrists, trusting Dave to follow. He closed the door behind them.

    Jane guided Terezi and Rose to the coat room, going on and on about how lucky she was that they had arrived when they did. Apparently, her recipes were turning out the way she had hoped and needed a couple of extra hands to help her get things ready. Dave elected to avoid the kitchen for the time being and see if Roxy and Dirk still needed some help decorating.

    “I must say.” Jade said, saddling up beside him. “You clean up very nicely.” She hooked her arm through his and patted his elbow.

    “Don’t I always?” he said smugly.

    “Don’t push it.” She teased, plucking a piece of imaginary fuzz off of his shoulder. “You always have looked rather dashing in red, though.” Her voice sounded almost far away

    “Thanks.” He paused. “You look nice, too.”

    “Thank you.” She beamed, standing up a little straighter, her head barely reaching his chin. Jade always looked tiny in comparison to Dave; but then again, anybody compared to the Striders looked tiny. They were incredibly tall and had wide, broad shoulders. One look at them and you knew it was impossible to lose any of them in a crowd; they were just bright blonde tufts of hair floating a head above everybody else.

    “So, who’s it for? Is Feferi gonna be here tonight?” Dave glanced down at her.

    Her eyes went wide for a fraction of a second.

    “No.” she ducked her head down and stared at the floorboards. “D-do I really have to have a reason to dress up or want to look pretty?”

    “So . . .” Dave puckered up his lips and looked away as they continued through the house towards the main living room.  “That’s a yes?”

    Jade scratched the side of her head and smiled nervously. “Am I really that transparent?”

    “Nah, I’m just good at reading you.” Dave looked down at her again. Her eyes were far away and she was worrying her lip with her teeth. “Hey.” He stopped them. She stared up at him with those wide green eyes. “You’re gonna do great.” He assured her.

    She let out a breathy “ha.”

    “And how can you be so sure, Mr. Strider?”

    “Because even if you don’t, I’ll make sure you woo that girl.” He said sternly. She looked up at him, her eyebrows creased in the center of her forehead before a tiny sideways smile tugged at her bright pink lips. She started chuckling and shaking her head, her bangs and ponytail swishing all over the place. “Hey, I’m being serious here.” He nudged her side with the arm she was still clutching as he started to walk again. “I’ll be your wing man for the night.”

    “I’m not sure if I should be grateful or terrified.”

**Karkat’s POV:**

    “Nepeta, does it really take that long to re-apply makeup?” Karkat shouted out to her, fumbling with the hem of his shirt to try and pull it down. He stood in the living room once more, only this time waiting for Nepeta to come out of the bathroom so they could get going. She’d forced him into something she found more appropriate for a party (she’d been spending _way_ too much time around Kanaya). Which ended up being a pair of black skinny jeans, a tight grey shirt with a red cancer symbol on it and a leather jacket.

    _“You’re going to have to take if off when we get to the party though, got it?”_

    Dear God, why had he agreed to this?

    “No.” Nepeta called back. “But this is payback for making me cry and worry about you.” She stuck her head out of the bathroom door, her makeup back in place on her dark skin. She smiled smugly at him before disappearing back into their little shared bathroom. “I’m almost done though; I have to get there before most of the guests arrive so I can set up and start playing.” She explained. Karkat sighed and slumped into the sofa.

    The soft squishy leather enveloped him in it’s comfortable warmth and he had half a mind to just stay there and refuse to go again. But somewhere in the back of his head he knew he would likely be dragged to the party, unconscious or otherwise. He’d already said that he’d attend; no point in going back on his word.

    Besides, Aradia, Sollux and Tavros were supposed to be there and even if he wasn’t going to ever admit it out loud, he’d missed them. They hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk at the Christmas party, partly because Karkat had to keep a consistent eye on Gamzee to make sure he was high as all balls, and partly because he was purposefully avoiding them.

    He dreaded the awkward greetings that were to come that night; he hadn’t spoken to any of them in at least two months.

    Karkat’s turbulent thoughts were interrupted by a soft pair of hands lightly slapping both of his cheeks.

    He startled out of his dazed state and glared up at the grinning face of his best friend. She squished his cheeks together so that his lips puckered up into that ridiculous fishy-face sort of deal.

    “No sleeping, butthead.” She chirped. “Time to get a move on!” Nepeta stood up straight from her position of leaning over Karkat and grabbed her keyboard off of the coffee table, hoisting it up to rest on her hip.

    “I’m comin’, I’m comin’ . . . assbutt.” Karkat mumbled the last part under his breath. Nepeta giggled and swatted at his arm.

    “Alright, Castiel, no more Supernatural quotes, either.” She shook her head again and stepped towards the door. “If you make anymore, you’ll definitely be alone on the sidelines.” She opened their front door for him and gestured to it dramatically. “Now that we’re ready, let’s go!” She squealed, smiling sweetly as he grabbed her car keys and stepped into the hallway.

    _Who on Earth said I was ready?_ He asked himself as his roommate took the keys from him and locked their apartment door behind them. _I’m pretty sure I never said I was ready._ They walked down the hall to the elevator while Nepeta was already asking his opinions on what songs she should play first. _I’m not ready at all. I can’t prepare myself for what they’re going to say._ Nepeta skipped into the elevator and pressed the lobby button, adjusting her keyboard so that she held it with both hands.

    _I can’t prepare myself for what a big scene Kanaya’s going to make._ She always was the more dramatic one in their group of friends. _I don’t want to think about what a big fuss Tavros will make about having to see me more often._ He and Tavros had always been known to keep the most contact, even when. . . But this time around, even he hadn’t heard from Karkat. _I can’t even fathom the type of shit Sollux is going to yell at me about disappearing off the face of the planet._ Karkat started to play around with the hem of his shirt again, anxiously tugging at it in hopes of maybe making it hang looser on his body.

    “Hey.” Nepeta caught Karkat’s attention again in the elevator. She placed a gentle hand on his upper arm. “You’re going to be fine. You know that, right?” Her eyes were earnest, like she was desperately trying to send him her mental positivity that he was going to be okay. “Everyone’s going to be overjoyed at seeing you again.” She tilted her head to the side and offered him a tiny smile.

    _Aradia won’t make a big deal out of this._ Karkat thought in the back of his head. _Aradia has never really been like the others._ “Yeah.” He nodded and looked down at the ground. “Thanks, Nep.” He placed a platonic kiss on the top of her head. _She’s always been more like Nepeta._ “You always know just what to say.”

    _She’ll worry and writhe in silence until she breaks down and falls apart._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I feel like I sort of rushed on this one and I could've done better in the ways of writing it. It kinda feels like a filler chapter to me, but I swear, all of the stuff in here's gonna be important later on.


	5. Silent Stares and Hot Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this title sounds weird. Trust me, you'll understand by the end.

    When Karkat and Nepeta arrived at the large, mansion-like house, they were greeted by Jane and her cousin, Jake. “Nepeta, Karkat, good to see you two!” Jane grinned and stepped forward to give them each an awkward one arm hug since she was cradling a large bowl of batter in the crook of her other arm.

    “C’mon, Roxy’s been waiting for you.” Jake waved them in and told them where to put their jackets.

    At first, Karkat expected to see only the Egberts and this mysterious “Roxy” that had invited them, based on the fact that they were still technically early, but when they got into the massive living room it turned out they were a tad bit tardier than originally planned.

    There, lounging on the massive pieces of furniture sat a multitude of familiar faces and those of strangers. “Neppy!” one of the platinum blondes leapt to her feet and launched herself at the girl standing next Karkat, nearly giving him a heart-attack.

    “Roxy!” Nepeta squealed back, holding out her free arm for a hug; her other arm still pinned her keyboard between her palm and her hip.

    Karkat remembered vaguely being introduced to this girl but it must have been either been a very long time ago or when he was drunk because he barely recognized her. “ _Soo_ glad you could make it.” She pulled away from Nepeta, flashing a Cheshire cat grin.

    “I’m glad, too.” Nepeta beamed back with just as much excitement.

    “C’mon, I’ll show you where you can set up your cool deely-bobs.” The overzealous blonde lurched in the direction of another hallway, motioning her friend to follow.

    “For the last time, it’s just a keyboard!” Nepeta giggled. Karkat started to trail behind when his roommate turned around and held up a hand for him to stay. She glanced at the other guests who were just staring at them, apparently enjoying the show. Her hand was moved to the side of her mouth to block what she was mouthing out to him.

    “ _Make some friends._ ”

    And just like that, she was gone.

    Karkat turned to face the group of strange people. He recognized John, of course, and Jade. But other than that, he was kind of lost. There were three blondes left sitting there, all seeming pretty bored with him again, if they were ever interested before.

    The first one that Karkat noticed was a fairly pretty girl who sat next to John. Her petite body was shrouded in a loosely fitting purple halter strap top and a two-sizes-too-big pair of grey shorts over some calf-length leggings. Her hair was cut into a stylish bob that framed her jawline perfectly, but that was pretty much all Karkat could see of her face before she buried her nose in the large black leather-bound book that hid pretty much her entire face.

    One of the others was sitting next to her, his arms relaxing on the back of the couch.

    His outfit wasn’t much to write home about; a simple T-shirt and torn up jeans hung loosely around his very obviously muscular body. A pair of leather, fingerless gloves clung to his knuckles and a pair of pointy, anime-esque sunglasses resting squarely on his nose. His hair was slathered back from his face and up to a point in the back of his head. There were so many hair products used to do this anti-gravitational tick that Karkat could practically smell it from where he was standing a good eleven feet away. He must have noticed Karkat’s stare situate on him because he lifted one of his hands to give a half-hearted little wave. Karkat awkwardly waved back.

    Just as he was about to study the last blonde in the room he felt a great weight hit him squarely in the back with an enthusiastic “Karkles!”

    Karkat would have recognized that familiar squeaky voice anywhere. “Terezi, what the fuck?!” he shouted, instinctively slinging his arms back to catch her legs on his hips. They’d done this whole charade many times over and by now he was used to her launching her entire weight onto his back, despite having outgrown him by an inch or two. Still, he almost toppled over onto the coffee table; he honestly wasn’t expecting it.

    He laughed at her, his voice losing all poison immediately. He carefully set her down and turned around for an answer.

    “John, you are _such_ a liar! I thought you said he wasn’t coming!” she placed her hands on her hips, completely ignoring her middle school friend.

    “But he told me he wasn’t.” John raised his hands innocently as Terezi strutted forward. She was known to be outstandingly strict when it came to punishing liars.

    “Is this true, Karkles?” she turned her head over her shoulder to “look” at him with her glassy blue eyes.

    “Yeah. I denied his oh-so-generous invitation earlier, but Nepeta’s the one who talked me into coming.” Karkat crossed his arms over his chest and left a tiny fraction of a smile on his lips as he watched his childhood friend.

    When he shut everyone out, he shut _everyone_ out, Terezi included. He still saw her occasionally; the few times she actually showed up to work and once or twice when they ran into each other on the street, but otherwise not a word had been spoken.

    “Remind me to give her an extra-large ‘Thank you’ tonight. Dragging you out of that little burrow of an apartment must have been hell for her.” She sauntered back up to Karkat and hugged him, receiving a tight squeeze in return. “I’m glad you’re here though. It’s good to. . .” she paused momentarily. “Aw, damn, being blind can really be difficult when trying to figure out correct terminology.” She pulled away and giggled. “It’s good to. . . smell you, I guess?” she wrinkled up her nose and laughed.

    “Nah, that sounds weird.” She decided. Karkat chuckled and shook his head, sending stray hairs flying into his face, but shit if he gave a fuck. It’d been a good seven months since he’d last allowed Kanaya to carefully trim his hair and by now it was all over the place. He’d quickly picked up the art of seeing through his bangs without being too bothered by them though so it was pretty easy for him to see his friend’s goofy smiling face still.

    “Hey, Terezi, is that the same shirt you were wearing when you got here?” Jade asked innocently. Terezi turned around to face the Egbert who sat snuggly between John and the arm rest of the couch.

    “Nope!” she said proudly. “I hope you don’t mind, I left my other one in the coat room. It felt too. . . Un-me.” Terezi put simply.

    Karkat rolled his eyes; half of the shirts Kanaya had forced her to buy felt “Un-her” yet she refused to get rid of them for some strange reason. He wondered silently which one it was that she changed out of while quickly evaluating her outfit. Her top was covered by a black shirt with teal sleeves that came down to just about her elbows. A bronze colored, knee-length layered skirt sat on her hips and her favorite pair of red converse flats lit up the outfit like a match.

    In other words, she actually managed to pick out corresponding colors for once in her obliviously blind life.

    “Ah, Terezi, glad to know you finally stopped hogging the bathroom.” Jake’s voice suddenly rang out from the hallway Karkat and Nepeta had entered from. Karkat startled from his relaxed position, bristling to the point of his shoulders hitching up an inch.

    He _hated_ being surprised.

    Not only because of his natural reactions to them (which was to either freeze up, jump six feet into the air with a squeal or immediately smack the shit out of whatever had scared him) but also because it reminded him of. . . a certain bad experience he forced himself to repress years and years and years ago.

    Karkat forced himself to calm down and to _not_ drag that back up into his day to day thoughts.

    “Well, it’s not like you don’t have a bazillion others throughout the house.” Terezi rolled her eyes, a truly uncanny event to watch considering her pupils were almost indistinguishable from her iris, and placed her hands on her hips.

    “Right, but it would have been nice of you to at least not stay in there for thirty minutes.” Jake argued back. “There _are_ other people here after all.” He switched from his more serious voice to a joking and smiling one in a matter of seconds before he turned to Karkat

    “Karkat, Jane said she’d like you to help her out in the kitchen. Something about coffee cakes, I think?” he sounded unsure of himself.

    Karkat raised an eyebrow and was about to protest that he knew nothing about baking, despite working for a bakery, but Jake was already moving to sit by Spikey-Anime-shades guy, snuggling up rather closely while the blonde wrapped an arm around the Brit.

    They were already starting to do that ridiculous coupley thing where they cuddled extra close and did nauseating things like kiss each other’s cheeks or whisper little things in each other’s ears. Karkat rolled his eyes and decided that he’d rather take his chances in the kitchen than out here. Just as he was turning to go though, he got a glimpse at the face of the last blonde who sat separate from the rest on a huge armchair. The boy’s face had been turned in the brunette’s direction for who knows how long.

    Dark round shades.

    Sleek, sturdy jawline.

    Slender body.

    _Dave Strider._

**Dave’s POV:**

    He was here.

    He was here, he was here, he was _actually. Here_. Holy shit.

    Bakery Boy was standing in his best friend’s living room for a party they would be attending together for the _entire. Night._

    Why that sent Dave’s heart racing and made him struggle to keep his face from heating up was beyond him, though he had a sneaking suspicion. . .

    He did a quick once over of Karkat from behind his shades and quickly noticed his muscular, fit body.

     _Shit, does he work out?_

    That had to be it, because what other explanation could account for his biceps, his tightly toned abdomen, not to mention the abs that were clearly visible through his incredibly tight shirt. Just, wow. Karkat looked _good._

    Dave pondered silently while Karkat scanned the room why he ever wore those oversized and heavy clothes all the time if he looked _this good._ It didn’t make any sense to him; if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

    Dave’s heart nearly leapt into his throat when Karkat glanced at him before disappearing down the hallway to the kitchen. He bit the inside of his cheek, desperate to keep his cool intact.

    “What’s wrong, Dave?” Terezi asked innocently. She must have noticed his silence, somehow and was staring at him with those huge, creepily glassy eyes.

    “N-nothing.” Shit.

    He stuttered.

    Just behind Terezi, Dave watched Jade’s eyes widen. _Shit, shit, shit._

    A smirk slowly curled onto her lips and her eyelids fell to half-mast.

    _Shit, shit, SHIT._

    She glanced in the direction of the hallway quickly before returning to meet his gaze.

    Jade winked at him.

    _Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit, fuck, NO!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I feel proud of myself. Not only did I reach over 10,000 words in this chapter but i also got it out fairly quick.  
> Knowing me and knowing this streak surely can't go on forever, I'm thinking of making a schedule. Maybe I can post a chapter every Friday or Saturday. . . If you want to, comment whatcha guys think. If you're reading this after I've already gotten it all figured out, then what are you doing reading this?  
> Go to the next chapter!


	6. Snuck Snacks and Drunken Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A.K.A. everyone arrives and things are happy with an undertone of sadness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I think I've figured out a schedule for the most part. On Sundays, and maybe a few extra chapters on holidays or if I'm feeling excited.  
> Sorry if this chapter and a few others seem really lazy or that not a whole lot of effort was put into them; I've slowly been receding into a state of "Oh god, nobody likes it, it's terrible, why even write?"  
> Don't worry too much about it.  
> WELP  
> YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND READ NOW!

**_Roxy’s POV_ **

    Roxy was smiling gently at the back of her dear friend’s head. It was really, _really_ nice to see Nepeta again. No matter how much time they spent together, it never felt like enough. They’d only first met their first year of college together when they were eighteen; not nearly as much time as Nepeta had spent in her other friendships, but both parties agreed it felt like so much longer than three simple years.

    “Okay, that should be it.” Nepeta stood up and put her hands on her hips, grinning proudly at her set up. Roxy leaned her head on her friend’s shoulder in order to see over it; she didn’t understand what there was to feel accomplished about. It looked like a battlefield of crisscrossing wires and volume adjusting landmines; one wrong step and you may just deafen the entire crowd. Nepeta’s keyboard stood shakily on top of the mess. It teetered slightly when Nepeta pressed a key or two, making sure it was connected properly. The notes sounded loudly through the huge base speakers on either side of the little stage/platform thing she was allowed to use for the night.

    “I still don’t understand how the Egberts can afford all of this stuff.” She slid her hand over the top of the speaker to her left. She played another key, letting the vibrations shiver through her hand. “Like, seriously, how can they pay for this gorgeous house, four kids, two college tuitions, soon to be four, and all of this tech just by owning a little local shop?” Nepeta expressed her confusion to Roxy, who sat down on the pile of wires, ignoring the ones that poked painfully into her butt and thighs.

    “Janey tells me she’s the heir to a huge baking company. They aren’t related by blood, but the lady who runs it likes Jane’s skills and helps them out a lot. Like, a _lot,_ a lot.” Roxy explained. She glanced around the massive room they were in, which was technically the basement. It had a second kitchen down there, mostly filled with junk food and snacks though for occasions just like this. But it also included a spacious area – perfect for dancing – and, best of all, a bar. With plenty of alcohol stored behind the counter. Roxy’s eyes traced all along the shelves, bottles all lined up perfectly on them. She poked the inside of her lips with her tongue, chewing on the inside of her cheek until a little coppery-iron taste started to overwhelm her.

    _It’s technically not the new year yet._ Roxy though too herself.   _I can get away with a few loose morals, a_ _drink or two without breaking the rules. It couldn’t hurt, right?_ She started to become more and more sure of herself, positive that it could work, if done early enough. She was just about to stand up before Nepeta’s head swung in front of her from above, interrupting her gaze. Roxy yelped in surprise.

    “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” she asked, smiling curiously. Roxy giggled at how silly she looked, her hair hanging all above her head and her earrings dangling just by her eyes.

    “Ooh, nothing.” She rolled her eyes to the opposite side of the room, trying to seem casual and like she didn’t just puncture her cheek while thinking about getting drunk. She scrambled for a quick and believable lie. “Just . . . How delicious Jane’s food’s gonna be!” Roxy ducked under the curtain of hair Nepeta was making and leapt to her feet. “Come on, we gotta steal some before she sets it all out!”

    They raced to the stairs and were tripping over each other in a competition to see who could reach the kitchen first.

    _I have to get back down stairs soon. . ._ A voice echoed in the back of Roxy’s brain as she got a thick swat to the knuckles by Jane as she snatched up a large sugar cookie. _I have to get to it. I_ have _to._ The uninvited guest kept plaguing the delightful girl’s thoughts, always somehow dragging her back under into addiction.

**Karkat’s POV:**

    Jane smiled sweetly at Karkat as he came into the kitchen. “Hey Jane.” He said, shuffling kind of awkwardly near the doorway. Normally he’d be his loud and obnoxious self, but seeing Dave there had kind of set him off kilter; besides, he was in _her_ house, at _her_ party and she had requested _him_ for _help_. He may have been a prick, but he wasn’t that much of one.

    “Hello Karkat. Could you hand me that plate?” she pointed to a large glass plate that sat on the counter near him, holing a cute little stack of cupcakes.

    “Oh, sure.” He carefully held it out to her, trying to keep all of the delicious pastries from falling.

    She whisked it away, no problem, and put it next to a number of other assorted foods. Chips, crackers, cookies, cake, and little tiny macaroons that were so perfectly put together Karkat honestly wondered if she’d simply bought them from the store. But he knew better than to question Jane’s skills, and kept quiet. “I’m going to need your help with bringing all of this down to the basement soon. Guests will be coming before you know it and John’s friends tend to get cranky without food.” She giggled and patted out the apron that covered her beautiful blue dress before returning to rushing around the kitchen to set things up and put cooking materials away, etc.

    “But, uh, Jake said you needed me to help make. . .” He internally sighed at how stupid he’d probably sound, questioning it. “Coffee cake?”

    She paused in her relentless flitting about and shot a cheeky Egbert grin at him. She calmly walked to the coffee machine that was shoved into the corner, among other appliances, and held up the almost entirely full pot of liquid heaven. In her other hand was a cute mug with Charlie Brown on the side.

    “Code name.” She poured a heaping amount for him and grabbed a creamer off of the counter, holding both out to him. “I thought you might want to have a little extra boost for the night. I know you don’t like staying up, at least not on purpose, so I thought this might help.” She beamed up at him as he took the gifts before turning back to her work.

    Karkat blinked and smiled back briefly before dumping a massive amount of creamer into his mug. “Thanks Jane. I really, really needed this.” He sighed contently and gulped down most of it.

    “‘Ey!” she lightly patted his stomach with the back of her hand. “Drink it, not inhale it!” she scolded, laughter evident in her voice.

    “I am!” he joked back, setting the cup aside only to end up turning back around at the sound of footsteps coming towards them from one of the hallways.

    The kitchen had two doors that both lead into hallways. One of them was right by the front door; that hallway lead to the coat closet, a bedroom, the stairs to the second floor and if you walked straight down it you’d end up right in the main living room.

    The other entrance was almost on the opposite wall of the first. That hallway lead to the first floor bathroom, the stairs to the basement and also lead to the main living room.

    Before either Jane or Karkat could react, two excitedly giggling girls came bursting through the second doorway and began plucking sweets off of the table only to shove them immediately into their mouths. “ _Hey!_ ” Jane growled, slapping one of the girls’ hands harshly as she tried to pick up a sugar cookie. “Roxy, you know the rules! No eating until the other guests arrive!” Jane put the sugar cookie back on its rightful plate and plucked a macaroon straight out of Nepeta’s hands. “That goes for you, too, Nep! I worked hard on all of this and I don’t want you to go and eat it all!”

    She crossed her arms angrily over her chest and huffed at the two. Nepeta’s head lowered and she slowly stepped behind Karkat, as if he were a suitable shield. Roxy just giggled and snuck a sandwich behind her back. “Ooh- _kay_ Janey. No more snacking, promise.” She held up her right hand, as if it would make Jane believe her.

    “Mm-hmm, right. Just get your little butts moving to help get this all downstairs.” She settled her steely glare on the only guy in the room. “Karkat, make sure they don’t eat anything. Or you’ll all get,” she paused for effect, dragging a large wooden spoon from one of the open drawers behind her. “ _The Spoon!”_ She held it in front of her threateningly. “And I’ll get Terezi to help with the punishment.” She cackled.

    “What punishment?” Terezi’s voice suddenly piped up from the first doorway. They all turned to see Terezi’s head sticking out awkwardly from the wall, appearing as though she didn’t have any body to match it.

    “Ooh, the punishment for eating any of my food before anybody arrives.” Jane answered, as if Terezi just randomly interjecting in their conversation were the most natural thing on Earth. “Would you mind assisting them in bringing it all downstairs?” Jane asked.

    “Nah, I’d rather just help with the punishing.” Terezi’s full body appeared in the doorway and she waved her hand dismissively at Jane’s invitation. “Also, the doorbell rang while you guys were bickering. Probably some more guests, so I recommend getting a move on with those treats.” She cackled.

~-~-~

    The food was all finally moved downstairs and just in time, too. Guests started pouring into the house just a few short minutes afterwards and before Karkat knew it, Nepeta was forced downstairs to entertain them. “You’re going to be singing tonight, right?” she’d asked him, eyes light with uncertainty.

    He crossed his arms and sighed dejectedly. “Yeah.” He answered, too tired to fight.

    “Yay!” she squealed, forcing her arms around his neck for a hug. “Thank you, Karkitty! I swear, you’ll love it!” she told him before spinning around and dashing down the stairs to squeeze her way through the already gathering crowd and get to the stage.

    Karkat sighed again and leaned against the wall next to the bathroom, shoving his fingers through his dark hair. In the back of his head, he wondered when the caffeine he ingested would kick in; another little voice questioned if it already had.

    The bathroom door few open without warning, startling Karkat out of his daze. He jumped and stood up straight, staring at the person who stepped through the doorway.

    “Oh.”

**Dave’s POV:**

    “Goddamn it.” Dave growled as he stood in the bathroom, hands resting on opposite sides of the sink. He glared down the drain and grit his teeth. Jade knew. Jade knew about his little attraction to the Bakery Boy – Karkat, Kitkat, Kit-a-Kat, Karkitty, the list of nicknames he’d thought up went on and on because c’mon, Karkat was _so_ perfect for coming up with nicknames for – and now she was going to tell everyone. She was probably doing it as he sat there and thought and waited and anxiously cracked his knuckles (nervous habit, don’t ask).

    He couldn’t let her do that. I mean, Rose probably already knew and he had a sneaking suspicion that John knew as well. He was pretty okay with his small group of close friends knowing about his interests in someone. But if Jade knew, it wouldn’t stay in their little social circle for long. She’d tell Jane, or Jake or Roxy or Dirk or Nepeta or. . . God, she’d tell Terezi.

    That thought terrified him more than he thought it should.

    Sure, Terezi was a dangerous person to confide in at times, but she took most serious things with a level head. However, when it came to liking someone. . .

    Plus, she was old friends with Karkat. She could just go waltzing up to him at any second and straight away tell him. Oh, god.

    Dave suddenly felt the urge to find his friend and make her promise not to do anything rash. He flung open the bathroom door quickly and stepped out, prepared to run around the entire house just in order to find one of the insane girls he’d befriended. Jade or Terezi, it didn’t matter to him. He just needed to get to them and –

    “Oh.”

    A short guy with incredibly messy brown hair, deep mahogany eyes and the build of a model stood next to the bathroom and stared up at Dave. Dave’s heart went from one thousand to zero in less than a second before spiking all the way up to ten thousand.

    “Hi.” Dave said, hoping that his face was remaining still and stoic. “Uh.” He stepped out of the bathroom’s doorway. “Do you need to go?” he gestured to the room where the light was still on.

    Karkat shook his head.

    “Ah. . .” Dave said before they both plunged into utter and complete silence.

    (Well, not really, there were still people shouting downstairs and by now the music had started up, but apparently they had their own little muffler bubble because it seemed like there wasn’t a single sound to be heard.)

    _This could not be more awkward._

**Karkat’s POV:**

    _This could get a lot more awkward. Shit._

**Dave’s POV:**

    _Have to excuse myself, quick. I’ve just been staring at him for like, a minute, fuck!_

    “Uhm.” Dave cleared his throat. “I’ve got to go. Uh, see you around.” He lifted his hand in a lame attempt at a wave before quickly absconding the fuck out of there.

    When he reached the bottom of the steps he sighed, dipping his head forwards and slouching in on himself. “Why am I such a fucking idiot?” he murmured quietly to himself.

    Shouts and cheers and jeers and funky music were all around him. The basement was already quickly filling up with people and the area reserved for dancing was getting rather crowded by now, but that didn’t stop them from dancing. Dave let loose a tiny smile; he was finally in his element.

    He walked calmly over to the food tables and grabbed a mini finger sandwich, scarfing it down within seconds.

   Dave looked around the room, suddenly remembering what he was so desperate to do before falling into that awkward as fuck situation with Vantas. His eyes scanned the area, desperate to find a bright blue ball of insane cackling or rocking hair. Terezi was always one to go straight into the madness of the dance floor, despite her lack of eyesight. It always worried Jane and Kanaya, but she always found a way to assure them that she was fine and could just slap people who bumped into her, or got a little carried away, with her walking cane.

    Jade, however, was often times the one to hang by the edges; large crowds made her feel claustrophobic, she said. But that didn’t stop her from dancing like mad.

    Dave looked down at the carpeted ground dejectedly. Finding them in a massive sea of growing people who were all dancing _way_ too hard to the type of music that was being played was a feat not even he believed he could accomplish.

    “Hey, bro.” A deep and growly voice sounded beside him, accompanied by a hand on Dave’s shoulder and the smell of weed. Dave jumped and looked up to see the grinning, painted face of Gamzee Makara. They never really got along, but Dave guessed he was a nice guy. He’d really mellowed out after being prescribed that legal marijuana, and especially after getting into a relationship with Nepeta. Dave had a sneaking suspicion that since she was usually one to be cool, calm, and collected, she managed to keep him subdued whenever he went off his rocker.

    “Hey, Gamz, what’s up?” Dave asked, trying to be casual.

    “Uh, I think your sister’s over at the bar. . . An’ it ain’t lookn’ so good. . .” Gamzee got out, seeming almost guilty about having to tell Dave what was going on.

    “Which one?” Dave asked, standing up straight. It didn’t quite matter which one; both of his step sisters had problems with alcohol. But with Rose, she could be reasoned with. Roxy. . .

    “It’s Rox-sis.” Gamzee mumbled out, scratching the back of his head.

    Dave froze. “Damnit!” he shouted. Gamzee flinched. “I thought she’d put all of this behind her!”

    He shook his head and patted Gamzee on the shoulder. “Thanks for telling me.” He started to walk towards the bar, before stopping and turning around. “And it wasn’t your fault.”

    Gamzee and Roxy had always been sort of close; those kind of friendships where they didn’t necessarily saw each other a whole lot, but still got along great. Gamzee had been the one who’d watched as Roxy purposefully intoxicated herself over and over again just to numb the pain. He’d been there with her through her rehab this past year and had been a really great friend to her. It seemed only natural that he’d feel guilty about not getting there in time to stop her from sinking back into addiction.

    Dave immediately noticed the large crowd of people who stood in front of the counter. Most were leaning over the marble barrier to stare down and shout at someone who sat behind it.

    Dave already knew who he was going to see when he stepped behind the bar, but it still didn’t prepare him.

    “Daveyyyy. . .” Roxy slurred. Dave sighed angrily.

    “Daveyy-” Roxy interrupted herself with a hiccup. “Yyy. . . I’m srry, Dve.”

    The crowd of people erupted with laughter. Dave shot them all a warning glare that they didn’t catch through his shades. “Alright, show’s over folks.” He said, kneeling down to pick the overly-intoxicated Roxy and hold her close. “Now beat it before I beat you.”

    “Dave. . .” Roxy murmured, obviously on the edge of blacking out. _How did she drink so much so quickly? I just saw her an hour ago._ Dave wondered to himself. “I’m, I’m so soorrryyyyy. . .” She started crying a little bit, so the sorry came out as a quiet wail.

    “Shh, shh, shh, shh. . .” he whispered to her, kissing her forehead. “It’s all okay. You’re going to be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, that's over with! I'm sorry about the Roxy thing and how that may get a few people down, especially later on. Trust me, I don't want to do it either, Roxy is like my spirit animal, but I feel like I have to because character arc/ks and such sucky buisiness.  
> by the way, is arc/ks spelled with a k or a c i can't decide. . .


	7. A Bucket of Cute Drunk Roxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A.K.A, everyone is worried about Roxy, drunken confessions are made and basically nothing important happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is technically a late update since i deleted last weeks due to it sucking LITERAL BALLS  
> and i didn't want to do that you guys and such. so yeah. i improved it!  
> it's pretty much completely different from before, i hope you guys don't mind. I may reuse it later on 'cause all that i wrote gamzee saying was really cool, but yeah.  
> (WARNING:  
> THERE'S A REALLY CUTE PERSON READING THIS RIGHT NOW AND THEY'RE ADORABLE WITH A CUTE NOSE AND THIS FLUFFY HAIR AND REALLY PRETTY EYES AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO MEET THEM, UNFORTUNATELY I AM JUST A WARNING, THEREFORE I CANNOT)  
> (p.s. you're the cutie)

**Dave’s POV:**

It took Dave little to no time to hoist Roxy up the stairs and into the main living room.

    He laid her out on the couch, making sure her head rested squarely on a cushion, tilting her jaw just slightly to the side so that if she barfed in her sleep (like she was sometimes known to do – despite being an alcoholic, she could not hold her drink) she wouldn’t choke on in.

    He brushed a bit of her hair out of her face before quickly rushing over to where Jane stood near the front door, awaiting new guests.

    “Jane.” Dave said, breaking his normally calm tone. Immediately Jane noticed the difference, launching herself straight to her feet from her previous position of leaning against the wall.

    “Is it – Did Roxy . . .?” Jane trailed off.

    Dave nodded gravely.

    Jane was out of the hallway and into the kitchen before Dave could hardly even blink. When he peeked through the doorway, he found Jane leaning over a slip of paper, scribbling something on it in Sharpie.

    “What’s that for?” he asked her when she put a piece of tape on the top and rushed to stand on the front step, sticking it to the door.

    “So that I don’t have to keep letting guests in. It’s not as polite as I would have liked, but it’ll have to do.” She said hurriedly, her words tripping over each other as she rushed back inside the house.

    Before she closed the door, Dave got a good look at what the note said; _“Let yourself in! Through the kitchen, into the hallway, first door on the left; in the basement”_

    Dave snickered despite himself; only Jane would leave direct instructions on where to go to get to the basement. He was pretty sure the thumping base was enough to alert any guests as to where the party was going on.

    Mercifully, nobody had decided to hang out in the living room yet, so neither of them had to shoo anybody out of their way. Either that or the sight of Dave carrying a rather intoxicated, possibly drugged, girl into the area scared them all away.

    Jane knelt beside Roxy and sighed, taking her best friend’s hand in hers and squeezing it slightly. Dave sat down next to her, cross-legged and stroked Roxy’s hair. He waited for Jane to say something, cry, slap Roxy to wake her up and scream at her or react in _some_ _way_ , but they were left shrouded in silence.

    Well, as much silence as there could be when there were about two hundred guests (how did the Egberts even know so many people?) all partying and dancing and swaying together downstairs to a rather interesting song.

    An undisclosed amount of time passed in which neither of them spoke at all. Dave felt the atmosphere surrounding them get awkward, but was unsure as to how to fix this problem.

    Fortunately, he didn’t have to.

    “Isn’t she so beautiful when she sleeps?” Jane whispered, rubbing her thumb over Roxy’s knuckle.

    Dave kept silent, feeling like this was the sort of question that didn’t require an answer.

    “I’ve always thought so. Especially when we were kids.” Jane’s voice started to get far away, like she was floating away. She paused for a moment. “Do you remember when she had all of that long, long hair?” Jane glanced up at Dave, a sad smile playing on her lips. Dave nodded silently, still trying to figure out if it was appropriate to speak or if Jane was still being rhetorical.

    She turned her head back to face Roxy’s. “We would video chat for hours and hours on end. . . Most of the time going late into the night. She’d fall asleep on me and just lay there while I stayed awake.” Jane’s eyes started to tear up a tiny bit, her voice wavering in that awful, painful way when you’re trying to speak around the lump in your throat, trying not to cry. “I would always think to myself that she looked a bit like-like Sleeping Beauty, right?”

    Jane started to fully cry now, hiccupping a little bit and squeezing the life out of Roxy’s hand. Her body lurched up and down with every shaky breath. Her lips were moving fast and it took Dave an almost embarrassingly long time to realize she was whispering things.

    “Why’d she do it?”

    “We were so close to a new year, a new start. We were so close to restarting everything.”

    “Godammit, Roxy, why?”

    “Janey. . .” A groggily tired voice suddenly spoke. They both looked at the still intoxicated Lalonde to see her two pretty blue eyes peeping open.

    Both she and Rose had blue eyes, but while Rose’s were deep and darkly resembled a more indigo color, Roxy’s were so bright they were nearly transparent. As a teenager, she’d often wear contacts that turned them an unnatural shade of pink, but she soon dropped the habit after entering college. Dave preferred her to share her natural eye color with the world; they were even more beautiful that way.

    “Roxy. . .?” Jane responded, the tears ceasing almost immediately.

    “Janey, you can’t be falling for me.” Roxy’s words came out slow and smoothly, her voice seeming to drop a few octaves.

    “What?” Jane rose an eyebrow. Dave was right along with her on that boat.

    “You’re. . . Doncha remember? Ya’ gotta get with Dirk-ister so. . . so we can all be one _huge_ ‘effen family and you . . .” Roxy kept pausing and then talking slow. “You can have tons of r’lly cuuuute bbieeeeees.”

    Jane’s face reddened to a point where Dave wondered if his vision had suddenly gone awry.  

    “Whoa, whoa, wait.” Dave held up his hands, interrupting Roxy mid-rant about how she’d make the best aunt in the entire world and take them out shopping in Paris once her career as a model took off and such bullshit. “Do you actually like Dirk?”

    Dave raised his eyebrows far above his shades when Jane tried (and failed) to stutter an excuse as to why Roxy was talking about she and Dirk getting married.

    “Godammit, why’s it always him?” Dave asked himself, once again disregarding a female’s nervous ranting. Twice in the matter of forty seconds. Must’ve broken some new record. “I mean, first Jake, then Roxy, then I think John might’ve had a thing for him, for a while at least, and now _Jane_?! Man. I have _got_ to step my game up.”

    “Oo got dat right, Daveh-boy.” Roxy giggled beside him. He lightly tapped her forehead.

    “Shut it. I’m already mad at you for. . . this.” He gestured his hand to the rest of her, indicating the situation they were in. She squished her cheek into the pillow under her head and widened her eyes, her bottom lip quivering out just a tiny little bit. Dave sighed angrily.

    “Don’t even try that fake puppy dog face and crocodile tears. You ain’t poutin’ your way out of this one, missy.” Dave said, his Southern accent slipping into his voice more and more. It always happened like that in certain situations, like when he was feeling really tired or casual, or in this case, getting madder.

    Roxy snapped out of the pitiful face almost immediately, completely dropping the act to glare up at her step brother.

    Well, “glare” is an exaggeration; she more squinted really hard at him with the look of a toddler who’d lost an argument on her face.

    Jane glanced from Dave to Roxy a couple of times before finally piping up.

    “Dave, I uh. . . I think I’ll handle this.” She said a little calmer than what her voice had been just a few minutes ago.  

    Dave looked up at her, marginally surprised. “Huh?”

    “Yeah, I’ll take care of Roxy for right now. You can go and enjoy the party, don’t worry.” Jane suddenly decided out of nowhere, sounding rather resolute.

    Dave glanced from Jane to Roxy to Jane again. “Is there gonna be some sort of secret female bonding conversation when I leave?” he asked them.

    “Of sorts.” Jane tilted her head to the side.

    More silence.

    Dave swore if it weren’t the middle of the winter, they’d all hear some crickets chirping outside.

    “Whelp, shit man.” Dave’s hands went up into the air again. “I can’t go around interruptin’ some fine lady bonding. It ain’t polite.” He hoisted himself up and stuck his hands in his pockets, already striding towards the door. “You two have fun.” He said before walking down the hallway and disappearing into the basement again.

    He hated how hastily he’d left, but Jane telling him to go “enjoy the party” had reminded him once more of his original mission; finding Jade and stopping her before she could tell the entire household that he had a developing crush on literally the only angry short Bakery Boy in the entire city.

**Jane’s POV:**

    Jane was surprised at how easily Dave had retreated, to say the least, but at the moment, that was the least of her problems.

    Roxy had started giggling beside her, trying – and failing miserably – to hold back her little chuckles behind her cupped hands. “Shut up!” Jane nearly screeched, slapping Roxy’s arm with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe you just did that!” She glared accusingly at the still giggly blonde.

    “What? Who cares? I for one think yo’re little crish on Dirky’s the cutest thing since kittens.” Roxy said. She seemed to be sobering up well, but still slurred a few of her words and it wasn’t as if the alcohol had completely left her body; which meant the hangover of the century would still be hitting her hard the next morning.

    “But he could tell him! And not to mention, _Dirk_ is dating _Jake!_ Did that completely slip your mind?!”

    “Ooh, yeaaah. . .” Roxy said like she’d just realized it. Jane face palmed.

    “Don’t worry about it. This is Dave we’re talking about; I’m sure he won’t tell anyone!” Roxy tried to reassure her friend. Jane face palmed again with the other hand, fully covering her beet red face. “I thiiink. . .? I mean, it’s Dave. His cool-kid façade can be pretty hard to predict sometimes. . .”

    “Not helping.” Jane said, her voice muffled by her hands. She lowered her head and pulled her knees up to her chest as best she could with the little space she was given to sit in between the coffee table and couch.

    “I know what _will_ help though.” Roxy grinned deviously.

    Jane peeked up at the Cheshire-Cat grin she could pull off so well. “Whaat.” She groaned, not in the mood for Roxy’s insane drunk shenanigans.

    “Wow, don’t sound so excited.” The blonde mumbled sarcastically.

    “Roxy, just tell me what it is before I leave you hear so that I may wallow in my own shameful self-pity.”

    “Hee hee.” Roxy giggled again. “Well, I’ll just tell ya quickly then; our lil’ Davey’s got a crush!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jane has a crush on Dirky, Tavros and John are gonna be dating, Gam and Nep are in a relationship, and Karkat used to have a thing going on with eridan because i'm the QUEEN OF CRACK SHIPS


	8. Big Crowds Suck and Jade and Dave are Jerks to Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which I actually update, it's a longer chapter and there's a lot of exposition.  
> also, there is a crow who lives right outside my window i'm gonna name him charlie charlie says hi

**Dave’s POV:**

    A steady base thumped throughout the basement, shivering the walls and floors. It was playing so loudly that Dave could feel it echoing in his rib cage. It was a remix, no doubt, of some stupid song on the radio that Dave never paid attention to. But there was something else in it. The sort of thing he recognized in his own remixes; a dash of him. Well, for this song, it wasn’t a dash of him, but it was a dash of _someone_. Someone who’d made the remix in the first place.

    The party goers cheered and swayed and bounced and clapped on cue to the beat. The party was already in full swing and Dave had no idea if he’d be able to completely throw himself into the reckless fun with the knowledge that his beloved sister was upstairs, giddily drunk and to the mercy of Jane.

    He was starting regret leaving them alone.

    With a deep sigh, Dave decided to force all worrying thoughts from his head and launch himself into the ecstatic crowd with a mission to find his perky little friend, Jade.

    Body parts overlapped, some clichéd red plastic cups had already been dug out of some back room and were now in the hands of a startling amount of guests, and there were sharp horns in every direction; Dave had to dodge a quickly turning head every now and then by either ducking or lurching to the side. Needless to say, it was all rather overwhelming and despite the fact that Dave was actually a big fan of peace and quiet and wasn’t particularly comfortable with large crowds like this, he found himself getting into the flow of things. The music was actually pretty good, even if the original was completely awful and he couldn’t help but let himself get side-tracked in a few over the top conversations about stupid things.

    And worse yet, they were with complete strangers most of the time.

    “Hey, do you have a dog? Sweet, what breed? What’s its name? That’s awesome dude, take care of them and tell ‘em that a stranger from a New Year’s Eve party said hi to ‘em.”

    “Yo, do you know the name of this song? Oh, that makes sense. I mean, the main singer’s just been singing it on and on and on for a while, so yeah, I guess that’s a fitting title.”

    “Are you in school still? No? Lucky bastard.”

    “What’s your favorite animal? Really? A cat? Huh. See, mine’s a hippopotamus, but to each to their own, or however that saying goes.”

    “Have you heard of this new game called “Frogglitine?” Okay, dude, I know how you can get it for free, you’ve gotta play it, shit’s magical.”

    “Do you know our Lord and Savior, Satan Jackson? Yes, that’s his last name; Jackson. What, a totally evil ruler of the underworld can’t have a totally generic last name?”

    “Man, I would _cull_ for some tasty human blood right now.”

    That last one was meant as a prank to see how many trolls would turn to look at him, undoubtedly thinking to themselves “is he a rainbow drinker?”

    As predicted, a good twenty heads turned towards the pale blonde; whether or not it was because he’d said it incredibly loudly or because he’d said it right when Nepeta was changing songs, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was that it was hilarious.

    Eventually though, he ran out of steam and wasn’t able to keep up with the slurred answers from some of the already drunker party guests.

    Dave sighed, a little discouraged that he still hadn’t spotted the buck toothed grin of a deranged Egbert. Surprisingly, though, he found himself right up near the front of the stage thingy that had been set up for Nepeta to perform on. He looked up to see the little black girl playing her heart out on that keyboard. Her bangs had been pulled back into a semi-ponytail, leaving the bright green highlights pulled taunt against her scalp.

    Dave vaguely remembered seeing Nepeta a few times while hanging out with Roxy, but she was always accompanied by a tall, sweaty guy. His name was something like Herculus or Eloquence; something with an “e” at the beginning and an “-quius” at the end. The point was, Nepeta was sweating harder than him right now and it made sense. Whenever she wasn’t jamming out like crazy to the music she was playing, she was jumping around the stage like a madwoman when her pre-recorded stuff was blasting through the speakers.

    The neon green bomber jacket she’d arrived in was tossed to the side, currently being used as a seat cushion for some random girl who’d decided to sit on top of the speaker.

    Dave squinted through the crowd, swearing he’d seen the girl’s face before, somewhere.

    He nearly slapped himself across the face when he noticed the bright pink dreadlocks bouncing side to side in time with the beat of the music.

    Dave sprinted over to Feferi Pieces as fast as he could while still dodging horns and the occasional over-zealous drunkard. He panted heavily once at the speaker, leaning his elbow on it and sighing heavily. “Hi Dave!” Feferi shouted over the music, still swaying side to side.

    He lifted a hand in greeting. She grinned down at him. Feferi was unusually tall for a girl like her. Tall and _wide,_ might I add. But certainly not in a bad way. She towered a good three inches above Dave’s head (including the horns – trolls always seemed to count them as their entire height, which was odd, but still acceptable), but when she slumped over, as she normally did, she could often be mistaken to be shorter than him. Her hips and thighs seemed to stretch from Timbuktu to Los Angeles, but that didn’t stop her from walking around normally. She just behaved like she took up just as much room as anybody else and others seemed to just ignore it.

    “Hellooo, Dave.” A tauntingly flirtatious voice croaked out, like, right next to his ear. I’m not joking, it was _right in his ear_ , making Dave startle in one of the worst ways possible. He jumped about six feet in the air and screeched, “Jesus fucking Christ!” drawing the attention of several bystanders. He placed a hand over his chest and leaned heavily on the speaker, glaring to the best of his ability at both Jade and Feferi.

    “Oh, my god, that was fantastic!” Jade howled with laughter. Feferi held both of her hands over her mouth to keep from fully bursting out like Jade.

    “Yeah, yeah, scaring the shit out of Dave, ha ha ha, so funny.” Dave growled sarcastically. “Oh, and by the way Jade, fuck you.” He flipped her off, no poison behind his words. Jade let out a few more hearty giggles before wiping her eyes of her tears and sauntering over to him, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders.

    “I don’t think you should be saying that to _me_.” She gave him a smug look, like a “ha, ha, I know what’s going on here and you don’t and I won’t be explaining it easily any time soon.”

    Dave sighed and crossed his arms, still trying to calm his heart beat from that scare. Truth be told, it had surprised him more than it probably should have. It just eerily reminded him of when he and Dirk were younger. Bro was the only one to take care of them, and by now he was doing a great job, but it hadn’t always been that way. . .

    Dave forced the thoughts out of his head once more, unwilling to relive those tramatic years all over again while in the midst of a New Year’s Party.

    “And who should I be saying it too then? Who on Earth could possibly be more suited for a big ol’ “Fuck You” than none other than Jade Harley, the queen of jumpscares, herself?” Feferi had started giggling again by this point. Dave pulled himself from Jade’s tight grip and gestured with both hands dramatically to the laughing girl on the speakers. “Perhaps Feferi, her majesty of all fish related puns? Oh, no, she couldn’t possibly accept a “fuck you” from me. Maybe you’d like to do the honors, Jade?” Dave let his hands fall and crossed them behind his back, leaning forward to properly smirk in Jade’s face.

    She had been reduced to a little blushing ball of “oh shit, he just went there.” Feferi, of course, hadn’t noticed the almost blatantly obvious innuendo and was just barking with laughter, her entire body lurching up with every “ha” she made. Both hands were over her mouth and she was pulling her feet up to cross them on top of the speaker with her. Jade nervously joined in, shooting daggers stealthily in Dave’s direction. He held up his hands in surrender, the gesture completely losing all meaning due to the incredibly smug smile he had plastered on.

    “Nah, I was just suggesting you shoot a “fuck you” towards Karkat.” Jade said, her smug behavior returning once more. Dave silently cursed himself for being so good at teaching her the 101 rules of how to be a douchebag. “Although, you may want to revise it. How about a “fuck me?”” She grinned at him, placing her hands on her hips and waggling her eyebrows. Okay, yep, it’s final, he taught her _way_ too much on how to be a complete dick to your friends. (She didn’t even have a dick, what the fuck, she was out-dicking him and she didn’t even have a fucking dick, this is wrong, this is so wrong.)

    Feferi suddenly gasped and clamped another hand over her mouth.

    “You have a crush on Krabcatch?!” she practically squealed.

    Jade answered for him with a single affirmative nod.

    “ _No_ , I do _not_ have a crush on him, I barely even know the dude, I met him, like, twice.” Dave countered, suddenly feeling cornered in the conversation. _Holy shit, what did she just call him? Krabcatch? Fuck yeah, I’m_ totally _using that one._ Dave thought to himself.

    Feferi pouts, obviously disappointed at least a little bit.

    “Aw, but you would make such a cute couple. . .” she trials off before covering her mouth again and giggling slightly. _This girl can be way too bubbly sometimes, goddamn, how much has she drunken?_ Dave asked himself. “Oh, cod, I’m sounding more like Nepeta, aren’t I? Hee hee!”

    “Yeeeahh, well, while you go about fantasizing about make believe gay couples, why don’t you make one right now?” Dave asked, looking between Jade and Feferi, eyebrows wiggling heartily above his shades.

    Jade started blushing again and smacked his arm, hard. “Shut the fuck up, Dave.” She hissed at him.

    Feferi didn’t seem to take notice of Jade’s embarrassment though; in fact, she seemed to have gotten distracted by something out in the crowd (though it was probably a somebody because wow it suddenly just got really claustrophobic in here and it’s way too tight for anything other than a person to be squeezed into this tight ass area.)

    Dave followed her line of sight, ignoring Jade’s little rant about being more subtle in his ear.

    “Look, there’s your little Krabcatch now!” Feferi squeaked, waving spontaneously to get the attention of (Dave could only take her word here; the ball of messy bed head was enough proof anyways) Karkat Vantas.

    _Oh, shit._

**Karkat’s POV:**

    Having a lot of people at an Egbert party; that was normal.

    Inviting Karkat Vantas to the Egbert party; that was normal.

    Karkat Vantas actually attending the Egbert party; that was some jacked up “what the hell is wrong did you hit your head?” type shit.

    Karkat was uncomfortably shuffling through the crowd, well aware that both his height and strength were doing nothing to assist him in getting through it safer.

    Karkat was just about ready to say “fuck it!” and walk the 24+ miles it took to get from his apartment building to the Egbert house. Why not celebrate the New Year with a bunch of dirty hobos and the snowy sludge all over the ground?

    The short troll sighed and shoved his way through the crowd, anxious to find just a pocket of empty space to breath in. The odors of natural troll must and sweaty humans was starting to piss him off. (Well, everything pissed him off, but this especially.)

    “Krabcatch! Krabcatch!” A squeaky voice called out to him from up ahead. Karkat sighed in relief, recognizing the familiar nick name given to him by none other than Feferi Pieces herself. Sure, it was sort of annoying to have so many people have nicknames for you, but at the moment he didn’t care.

    After clumsily shoving his way out into the more open area Feferi was seated in, he was surprised to see two other people standing nearby.

    One was obviously Jade. She stared at him with such enthusiasm he would’ve thought he was a new element for which she was going to become extremely famous for finding. The other one . . .

    _Oh, shit._

    Dave’s mouth remained in a straight line and much to Karkat’s utter disdain, he was still dawning his sunglasses, _indoors_ , _at a party_ , _in the basement_ , _in extreme lowlight._ Karkat began to wonder if it was some sort of condition he had. “Douchebag-itis.” Yeah, I guess that could be a real thing.

    Dave appeared to just be staring blankly at nothing at all while Karkat, Feferi and Jade all conversed slightly. The brunette couldn’t figure out for the life of him where the other male’s gaze was and it was sort of unnerving, to say the least.

    “Yo, Karkat, you paying attention?” Jade asked, poking his cheek. He swatted her hand away, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

    “Of course I was.” He lied.

    “Then what did she just say?” Feferi asked, raising an eyebrow. She’d caught him.

    “Uhh. . . Something about playing a . . . game?” Karkat answered in more of a question.

    “Ah, so even when you’re daydreaming about nothing you’ve got one ear open. Good to know.” Jade responded. “But yeah, I was thinking of grabbing a few people, aka, the only people who I can stand to be around when they’re shit-faced drunk, and heading upstairs to get away from the crowd.” She crossed her arms. “Whaddya say?” She suddenly broke the tiny façade with a huge grin.

    Karkat blinked owlishly at them and then shrugged. “Why not?”

    _This could be fun, I guess._

**Dave’s POV:**

_Hell yes!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha! I'm supposed to be working on two applications for my high school classes but instead i'm writing a fanfiction, 'cause why not, right? Right! Who needs to get into advanced classes so I can actually have a chance at getting a scholarship to college!  
> (i do)  
> Hey, do you like the Fall Out Boy / Panic! At the Disco-esque title?
> 
> Also, I feel like I'm kind of making some of the characters too similar, what do you think? i don't know why, but I feel like I made Terezi, Jade, Feferi and Jane all a little too alike.  
> comment what you think, and how you think i should fix it, if you want.


	9. Drinking and Movie Debates Don't Mix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are a lot more drunks in here than I had originally anticipated.  
> Also, MULAN AND MULAN 2 ARE THE BEST MOVIES NO ARGUMENT THEY ARE BAE ITS FINAL YOU CANNOT DENY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh heh, heeeyy guys. . .  
> Okay, i know i know I'm a piece of shit and such and I'm sorry. School's just been getting more difficult on me and it's seriously stressing me out.  
> Besides, I came up with a schedule to keep myself in check. Meaning I feel the need to update at some point NEAR the day i'm supposed to. Otherwise I'll just doom myself to an endless cycle of "Oh yeah, i'll update later"  
> also, Charlie says hi again, i think he has a family of sorts.  
> i'll report back in the spring about if i hear a bunch of little "caw caw caws" coming out of his nest!

**Karkat’s POV:**

    “I can’t believe that just happened. Did that really just fucking happen? I can’t believe that just fucking happened.” Karkat babbled, running his hands roughly through his hair.

    “Please tell me that did not just fucking happen.” He turned to look up at Dave, pausing the blonde mid swing. His eyes darted to stare at Karkat from the corner of his eye before he blinked and swallowed.

    “Alright.” Dave muttered, rubbing his mouth with the back of his sleeve. “That didn’t happen. It was _aaaallll_ an elaborate prank set up by me so that we two could end up alone.” Dave grinned uncharacteristically and leaned on Karkat’s shoulder.

    The night had gotten a little crazier after the invitation to play a game. Jade’s upstairs room had been host to Dave, Karkat, Feferi, Gamzee, Nepeta, Jane, Roxy, Rose, Kanaya, Vrisk and a few others, all participating in a ridiculously dangerous drinking game. They set a bottle in the middle of the room and spun it. Whoever it landed on was asked a question by each individual in the room. If they answered the question truthfully, the asker had to take a swig from one of the many, many bottles of alcohol lying about the room. If they decided to pass on the question, _they_ had to take a drink. It was all very stupid and dangerous and of course Karkat had become totally shit faced.

    Somehow, one of the neighbors had figured out that a few minors had snuck in and were drinking, so they called the police. Everyone else was wrestled out of the house, except for a few people, including the ones upstairs. Since most of the crowd had been forced out, Gamzee claimed it was “no motherfuckin fun anymore” and that apparently the only excitement that had been keeping the party in full swing was “chance of getting all kinds of caught and shit.”

    Nepeta, having drunken a considerable amount less than the others (she claimed she has nothing to hide, which ended up being true by the end of the night; she had apparently arrived at the party wearing a strapless bra and had a major daddy kink) so she offered to take Gamzee home.

    “I don’t want to go home tonight. Last time I did when Gamzee was that drunk, I found them on the couch in a position no best friend should _ever_ be forced to see.” Karkat had grumbled once they left. It wasn’t only that, but they’d taken his only ride home.

    Somewhere along the lines between shouting and cheering for way too long about the new year and grabbing a few more bottles of beer to drink away the already growing sober, Dave and Karkat had ended up in the basement alone, perched on the edge of the stage and surrounded by a war zone of litter.

    “Ha, ha, very funny. Now give me that.” Karkat pushed the head off of his shoulder and grabbed for the bottle Dave was still holding. The blonde gave it up easily and watched as Karkat gulped the rest of it down, easily a good cup or two.

    “Heyy, Karkitty.” Dave slurred, returning his head to Karkat’s shoulder.

    “What?” Karkat asked, discarding the empty bottle by tossing it onto the floor carelessly.

    “Indirect kiiiss.” Dave grinned, letting most of his upper body slump onto Karkat’s lap. The brunette noticed that while being a totally unresponsive dick when sober, Dave was actually pretty touchy feely when he was drunk. Karkat blushed and lightly smacked the blonde’s nose.

    “Gross.” He said childishly, like a toddler being touched by a girl when the whole “cooties” rumors started spreading.

    “You know you want this.” Dave’s eyebrows wiggled above his head.

    Karkat scoffed. “Yeah, suure. Whatever floats your ego boat.” He crossed his arms and glared down at the larger male.

    Dave chuckled.

    “’Ehy, but for real. Whatcha wanna do now?”

    “I don’t know. Talk, I guess?” Karkat sighed and laid down himself, squirming uncomfortably on top of the crisscrossing wires Nepeta had left on the stage. Once he deemed himself comfortable enough to lay there for an extended amount of time, he asked, “Where’re you from?”

    “Good ol’ Texass. . .” Dave drawled, lifting his hand up in a pistol position. “Hey, y’know, like, in all of those western movies where they just go “pew, pew, pew” with their guns?”

    “Yeaaah?” Karkat slurred, wondering where he was going with that.

    “Well, I grew up shooting swords instead ‘a’ guns. Er, no, slicing shit with swords, you can’t shoot a sword. . .” Dave suddenly sat up, all excited like he just had the best idea ever. “Shit, man, I should’ve lived in Japan! I could’ve been a samurai!” He turned to look at Karkat, grinning still. Karkat chuckled and nodded.

    “Suure, dude, go do that. You can grow up to be the best, dorkiest samurai the emperor has ever had.”

    Dave leapt to his feet and struck a battle pose.

    “Let’s get down to business! To defeat! The HUN!” he sang off key as he wielded an imaginary sword rather clumsily.

    Karkat covered his ears and groaned. “Ugh, don’t start that shit. Sit back down, I thought we agreed to talking, not singing.” He complained.

    “Can’t rest! Gotta save all of CHINAAA!!!” Dave screeched as he toppled off of the stage. Dumb idiot should’ve never started “attacking” the Hun when he was this drunk.

    “Oof!” he grunted, sitting himself up off of the ground. Karkat sat up as well and stared down at him with a sort of condescending smile.

    “Can we just talk now?” he asked smugly.

    “Ugh. . .” Dave rubbed his face gently. “Sure, why not? May as well find _something_ to sober us up, right?” Dave agreed suddenly, giving in with a sigh.

    “Right.” Karkat chuckled. He still felt all giddy inside and even though it felt good, it somehow felt wrong. Like something bad was going to happen to him or somebody near him because of his happiness, because shit man, that’s how the universe has worked so far. He shook his head and cleared the thoughts.

    “Uh, so, you’re a Disney fan?” Karkat asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

    “Eeyup.”

    “Cool.”

    “ _Very_ cool.” Dave paused. “And I assume you’re one as well?”

    “You’d be correct.” Karkat nodded.

    “Nice. Favorite movie?”

    “I’d have to say The Princess Frog.” Karkat smiled.

    “Favorite scene from it?”

    “Uhh. . .” Karkat thought for a while.

    “Probably, the one when they sing “Dig a Little Deeper” ‘cause the visuals are all really nice and the song’s like, the best.” He concluded.

    “Huh. From what John’s been tellin’ me about you,” Dave crawled over to the stage and leaned his back against it. “I thought for sure you’d be all over “Ma Belle Evangeline” ‘cause of the sappy romance stuff in it.” He stared up at Karkat.

    “Ugh, whatever. I like the scene, yeah, but c’mon; there’s no way that lightning bug is stupid enough to believe that a star is his own kind!” Karkat pouted. Dave grinned again.

    “Hee hee; Karkie’s getting all mad over a movie.” Dave teased.

    “I am not mad, just irked. . . a bit. And anyways, you’ve got to tell me your favorite movie now.” Karkat nudged Dave’s shoulder with his foot.

    “Uuuh, okay. Uhm. My favorite Disney movie is Finding Nemo-”

    “That’s Pixar.”

    “Same dif.” Dave waved him off. “But my favorite movie of all time is Princess Mononoke. Shit’s so magical, you don’t even know.”

    “Oh yeaaah. . . Isn’t that by the same company that made My Neighbor Totoro?” Karkat asked.

    “Yep. You’re familiar with them?”

    “Nope. I just watched Totoro with some friends as a kid and the song at the end has been haunting me ever since.” Karkat sighed as the toon subconsciously came into his head.

    “Totoro, To-toro. To-toro, To-To-ro.” Dave tauntingly sang.

    “NgAAAH!” Karkat growled, covering his ears and violently flailing away.

    “Don’t you _DARE_ start that shit Strider or I swear to god I will _kill you!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another sorry for the late update. Also, a heads up for next week.  
> i'm sorry if my writing seems really bad or some sad feels slip in. this Saturday is the 11th anniversary of my dad's death.  
> heh, saying anniversary makes it sound like a happy thing. . .  
> it's not happy.  
> But I will still be hopefully updating! DO NOT FEAR, MY CHILDREN! I DON'T INTEND ON LEAVING YOU HANGING!!!!


	10. The Morning After and Phonecalls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash forward a few weeks because I'm sick and tired of the characters being at the party and being drunk

**Dave’s POV:**

    It didn’t take long for that night to disappear into just another crazy New Year’s Eve party.

    Dave could still remember the night in perfect detail, though it seemed that the liquor had tainted Karkat’s memory.

    Dave remembered how they’d talked on and on and on about absolutely nothing important for what felt like hours. He remembered how it felt when Karkat finally leaned against his shoulder and asked, “Do you want to kiss?” He remembered just how good it had felt to have the short brunette’s lips pressed sloppily yet firmly against his. He remembered how heavenly Karkat’s first moan had been when Dave squeezed his hips.

    He remembered how gorgeous it had sounded when not muffled by his lips, but let out openly into the air of the guest bedroom.

    He remembered the vulnerability and fear on Karkat’s face the morning after.

    Dave remembered every awkward moment that day. Everywhere from rubbing Karkat’s back as soothingly as he could while he barfed his brains out into the toilet to sitting in the booth at a local Starbucks, staring at each other with not a word to be said.

    Dave sighed, rubbing his fingers once more over the slip of paper that had been handed to him at the end of the “date.” Seven little digits sat scribbled on it; seven little digits Dave had already committed to memory. He sighed, rolling from his position on his stomach to lay on his back and stare up the ceiling. He couldn’t shake the memories of that night.

    And honestly, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

    Every moan, gasp, squeak, whine, glorious trill, stuttered word, shouted praise, every neck kiss, every utter of his name, every mark he left on Dave’s back with his nails remained permanently super glued to Dave’s brain. And even though he beat himself up time and time again for not stopping it when he had the chance, he knew that in that moment he couldn’t deny the fact that he lusted _terribly_ after Karkat.

    Dave’s favorite part had been when everything was over and it had all died down.

    When he closed his eyes he could almost relive the moment perfectly.

    ~-~-~-~

    Dave laid on his stomach, the right side of his face almost completely engulfed in the comfort of an overly fluffy pillow. He had his head turned, and his eyes open, despite not having the protection of his sunglasses. He didn’t care though; the influence of the alcohol and the high from his orgasm kept his brain fuddled enough to not care about anything really.

    Everything that had led them to this situation, all of the circumstances that had come into play in order for them to end up laying side by side in a queen sized bed melted away. The rest of the household didn’t matter anymore, nor did the rest of the night.

    In Dave’s tired little mind, all that mattered was the beautiful boy lying next to him.

    Karkat’s chest was still lifting up and down in a faster pace than usual; tired pants escaped his mouth as he kept his mahogany brown eyes fixated on the ceiling above them. Dave had cleaned them up and pulled the comforter on the bed about half-way up, enough to cover their lower halves.

    Dave stared longingly at the side of Karkat’s face, counting out the multiple moles that laid on the startlingly soft skin near his ear. With most of his hair pushed from his face and slicked back towards his scalp with sweat, every detail was revealed to the open air. Dave smiled warmly and leaned forward to kiss one of the moles, having realized that he rather enjoyed how many of them Karkat had.

    Karkat giggled as Dave proceeded to attempt to kiss each one, counting out how many he found with every peck of his lips. “Attempt” because Karkat was quite ticklish and started to squirm, hugging Dave closely to him.

    Dave had lost count by the time he started kissing his way down Karkat’s chest and stomach, finding a multitude of them spread across his thighs.

    “What were you doing?” Karkat asked, sighing quietly when Dave wriggled his way back up to face him. Karkat wrapped his arms tightly around Dave’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

    “Kissing you all over.” Dave grinned, burying his face in Karkat’s locks.

    “Why?” Karkat asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

    “’Cause you’re cute and I really like ya.” Dave murmured.

    “Oh. . .” Karkat said. He nuzzled closer to the blonde, squeezing him lightly. “Oh.”

~-~-~-~

    Dave sighed again and sat up in his bed.

    He still hadn’t called Karkat, but he’d gotten close a couple of times. The number all pressed in and his finger dangling above the dreaded “call” button, before he would chicken out and busy himself with something else “more important.”

    Despite the fact that he was a nervous wreck almost 24/7 now and hadn’t really left his dorm room for a while, he’d managed to accomplish some other things.

    He’d clean up the place rather nicely, gotten all of his laundry done, taught himself how to cook a mighty fine breakfast, finally fill the fridge up with something _other_ than week old take out, learn all of the rules of Klondike solitaire (and play over 57 games), and practice his sword-fighting skills.

    He nearly leapt through the roof when he heard a voice say, “Why don’t you just call him?”

    Dave glanced over at the bed across the room from his.

    He groaned once he realized it was his annoying as all hell roommate, Sollux Captor. He could be a pretty cool guy to hang around at times, and actually he and Dave had been friends in high school, which is how they ended up going to the same college. But once you spent day and night with the guy for over three years, you’d get pretty irritated with his habits.

    Habits like staying up all night, typing away on his computer without giving a damn about how much sleep you got. Or eating literally all of your food. Or inviting his boyfriend over to make out on the couch and not even care if you’re sitting literally three feet away and trying to watch Steven Universe.

    Not to mention his lisp. Dave knew the guy couldn’t help it (even after a few years of braces, the overbite remained) but it seriously got on his nerves sometimes, especially the way he spit when he was angry.

    “Huh?” Dave asked, laying back down on his bed. Sollux was still typing away, not looking up from his laptop screen.

    “I’m tired of you acting like a little wimp, sitting on your bed and sighing like a love-struck puppy; just call him and get it over with.” He answered back nonchalantly.

    “As if it was so easy for you.” Dave muttered.

    “It _was_ easy for me.” Sollux bragged, flashing the Strider his signature side grin. “As soon as I realized what the hell was wrong with me.”

    He closed the top of his laptop and set it aside, finally stared his roommate straight in the. . .

    Shades.

    “You’re scared of rejection, right?”

    “Uh, yeah?” Dave answered, not quite sure where Sollux was trying to go with this.

    “Alright, but what’s the worst that could happen if you ask him out?” Sollux scooted forward to the edge of his bed, leaving his feet to rest on the floor. Despite the fact that he and Dave had been the same height when they got here, Sollux had hit some magical, late growth spurt and was now a good three inches taller.

    “I get rejected.” Dave sighed.

    “Exactly. Now, if you’re scared of that, but that’s the worst that could happen, that’s not so bad, right?” he continued before Dave could respond. “And there’s also a chance that he could say yes too, correct?”

    Dave adjusted himself so that he was laying with his head off of the bed, upside down, and his feet braced against the wall his bed was shoved up against. He crossed his arms and glared as best he could at Sollux.

    “You’ve been spending way too much time around Rose.” Dave pouted, completely outwitted.

    “Nah, your sister’s just been spending way too much time around Ed.” He smirked. “And listen dude. I really do appreciate the fact that I can see the floor of our bedroom again,” he pointed at the wooden planks. “seriously, I do! I haven’t seen that ugly brown wood since our first year here, but you’ve gotta man up and ask your crush out. You’re way more than a cleaning lady.”

    Dave sighed again.

    “Alright, alright, I will. . . Tomorrow.” He whispered.

    “NOPE!” Sollux suddenly stood up and rushed over to Dave’s desk, snatching up his phone in a flash.

    “Hey!” Dave screeched, accidentally flinging himself off of his mattress. He landed on the ground with a loud “fuck!” and stared up in horror as Sollux tapped away on his screen.

    “You’ve got him saved under “Bakery Boy?”” Sollux teased. “Holy shit, that’s adorable.”

    “Dude, give it back!” Dave yelled, standing up and trying to snatch it away from him.

    Sollux lifted the phone up to his ear while flawlessly keeping Dave away. “Shhh! He’s picking up.” He shushed Dave before walking into the living room to avoid Dave’s attacks. “Hello? Yes, is this Karkat Vantas? Hi, I’m here to ask you out on a date for my wimp of a roommate. Yes, Dave. Dave Strider. When would you like to meet? Today? Okay. Text him your address and he’ll be over by four. Alright, he’ll see you then. Goodbye.”

    Sollux hung up as Dave collapsed onto the floor in pure terror. Sollux laughed as he tossed his roommate’s phone onto the couch. “Relax, dude. I gave you enough time. It’s only like, what, ten right now?” he asked, glancing up at the clock in their kitchen before heading over to grab something out of the fridge.

    “I’m dead.” Dave whimpered to the ground.

    “What was that?” Sollux asked, pulling a huge bottle of soda out of the freezer and chugging it down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sorry this one is pretty late.  
> there are lots of excuses as to why, but basically, the sixth was the day my dad died and it was hard on my family (he died eleven years ago of cancer, but its still hard)  
> and my little sister was sick for most of the week and was in and out of the ER and actually went to the hospital over night.  
> also, yesterday was valentine's day, and i'm a lonely potato with no life  
> so yeah. . . that's why.  
> also, jfc, i had to come up with SO many words for this chapter and the last.


	11. Cookie Dough Ice Cream, the Aristocats, and Whoops, it's Three Forty-Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Karkat talks a lot with his girl friends and I am late on updating because my life is falling apart at the seams but anyways i hope you enjoy

**Karkat’s POV:**

    Waking up on New Year’s Day, face to face with a beautifully blonde haired person had been one of the most terrifying moments of Karkat’s life.

    And having grown up with a literal gang as family members, that was saying something.

    His hangover was terrible and something in the back of his head kept chanting, “Never drink again” to him. Hardly able to move because of how achingly painful his headache was, Dave quietly dressed them both and took Karkat out to coffee. The brunette couldn’t say he didn’t appreciate it.

    Any other time he’d made the mistake of a one night stand he’d usually woken up with a note on the fridge saying “thanks for last night, see ya never.” Dave’s compassion and quiet understanding surprised him and made him all the more attractive.

    However, that hadn’t stopped him from completely ignoring him. Even if he had given Dave his number, he hadn’t gotten a call yet and it was already the beginning of February. Thus, he resigned all thoughts of the blonde to mere memories of that night.

    He sighed, pulling himself back to the present.

    He stood, leaning against the counter near the cash register at the bakery with his arms crossed. He watched as Jane prepared a few cakes to store in the freezer. They had to do this every couple of months to make sure they’re supply didn’t run out. While she was doing so, she prattled on about how Roxy’s rehab was working out, what colleges Jade and John where thinking about, and even what they were planning on doing over the summer.

    “They’re seriously considering the University of Minnesota?” Karkat asked incredulously. Jane nodded promptly, the sleeves of her jacket rubbing up against her sides when she lifted a cake to reach the top shelf.

    Neither Jane nor Karkat were very tall, so it wouldn’t do her much help if he offered to reach it for her.

    “Uuugh.” Karkat groaned in disapproval, rolling his eyes and slouching further against the counter. Jane shot him a look. “How dumb could they be?”

    “Hey, the U of M is a great college! They have lots of courses that Jade’s interested in.” Jane defended.

    “What about John?”

    “Er. Uh, wellllll. . .” she paused, slipping her jacket off of her shoulders as she finally closed the freezer door. “He says he just doesn’t want Jade to leave him behind.” She turned towards Karkat, her rosy cheeks framing her pursed lips.

    “Mm-hmmm. . .” Karkat drew out the sound.

    Jane huffed at his response.

    “Listen, all I’m trying to say is that Minnesota is a really long way away.” Karkat sighed, uncrossing his arms and standing up straight to face her. “Maybe you should ask them if they’re really, positively sure they want to move that far away from home before they go and pay their tuition.” He explained. “Especially John. I don’t want to see the poor kid get dragged into something he doesn’t want to do just ‘cause his sister’s doing it.”

    Jane’s eyebrows slowly creased a line in the middle of her forehead. She tilted her head to the side, like Karkat had just gotten a brand new haircut, but she was having a hard time placing what exactly had changed.

    “Is that what happened with you and your siblings?” Jane asked him gently.

    Surprised by the question, Karkat didn’t instantly respond with a cleverly thought up speech. Jane gave him a concerned smile, only one of her cheeks bunching up by her eye. It was quiet for a while.

    “What were they’re names again?” she suddenly broke the silence, placing a finger on her chin in thought. “Ah! I remember now. Tavros, Aradia, and Sollux, correct?” She grinned at him.

    Karkat lowered his head and nodded slightly.

    It was quiet again for a while and Karkat hated how awkward he was making this – for the both of them. He wasn’t sure what it was about the topic of his siblings that made him feel so sad, so guilty. Maybe it was because he had spent most of the New Year’s Eve party stumbling through a crowd, getting drunk and locking lips with a stranger rather than actually looking for them and making peace.

    He hadn’t spotted them once among the faces of the party.

    “Do you want some tea and muffins?” she asked, her voice suddenly returning to the quiet state it had been before, like she was afraid breathing on him in the wrong way would bring about a total meltdown. He nodded again.

    Jane told him to go sit down at one of the tables while she put the kettle on.

    As he waited for her to get back, he thought to himself. About the party. About Dave. About his siblings and his family. He sighed as he felt the pressure grow in his chest; the undeniable pull of guilt and the need to get it all off of his chest.

    He was halfway to the floor under the table by the time Jane rounded the counter with two mugs of peppermint tea in hand. She stopped to swipe a blueberry and chocolate chip banana muffin from the display case and sat down across from Karkat.

    She tilted her head again at him as he sat up straight and dug into his muffin.

    “Need to talk about something?” she asked.

    Karkat paused, cheeks full of pastry goodness. He swallowed slowly and shook his head no.

    Jane offered him a tiny smile. “Well alright. You just seemed a little bummed about something.”

    Karkat shrugged his shoulders and lowered his head. Jane tapped the top of his scalp so that he’d look back up at her.

    “You know I’m always here if you need to talk about anything.” She said reassuringly. “When you’re ready of course.” She added quickly.

    Karkat smiled a little bit and nodded.

    “Good.”

    Silence wafted over them.

    “You know; you sound kind of like a middle school counselor when you say stuff like that.” Karkat chuckled.

    “What?!” Jane nearly screeched.

    “ _I do not!_ ”

~-~-~-~

    Karkat stumbled in through his apartment door later than usual. Nepeta was sitting on the couch, her favorite Disney movie, the Aristocats, playing on the screen in front of her.

    She looked a wreck.

    Her hair was tied back into two tiny French braids (how she managed to do that with her tiny amount of hair, Karkat never knew) and she was wearing her special pjs that he’d gotten her for Christmas a few years prior. She’d said at the time that they were so soft that she couldn’t even _think_ about wearing them day to day; they had to be special. They were a pair of long green and blue plaid pants and a matching button up shirt that had a pocked just over her chest with a little embroidered kitten on it. That was what had made them oh so “special;” Karkat had gotten their good friend, Kanaya, to stitch on the pattern. Having grown up in the fashion industry, she was far more familiar with those types of things than Karkat could ever hope to be.

    Nepeta’s eyes were red and raw, her eyelashes clumped together like they did when she was crying. A bucket of cookie dough ice cream sat next to her on the couch.

    Karkat’s stomach dropped to his feet, out of his body and then plummeted to the ground several stories below. He was already messed up thinking about his siblings; he did not need a crying best friend on his hands.

    In an instant his bag was on the floor near the door and he was kneeling in front of the petite girl, his hands cupping her cheeks.

    “What’s wrong?” he asked as gently as he could. Nepeta shook her head out of his hands and tried to smile at him.

    “Nothing.” She lied. “M-me and Gam just had a-a litt-tle. . .” she kept stuttering, her chin wobbling up and down until finally her face crumped into that painfully terrible sob face. She curled herself into a ball and hid in her hands, waterfalls pouring from her eyes while she hiccupped with every breath.

    Karkat lifted himself to sit next to her on the couch, shoving the ice cream bucket onto the coffee table. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders securely and started whispering quietly.

    “Shh, Shhhh. . .”

    “You’re okay, we’re okay.”

    “I’m here, I’m not going to leave you.”

    “Just breathe.”

    “I’m here, Nep, I’m here, don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

    She’d started clutching at his shirt like he was the only thing keeping her from slipping away.

    Slowly, she calmed down and lessened her grip on him.

    “Now, what the hell did Gamzee do to you?” he asked her after a long while. They’d gotten more adjusted, cuddling slightly with each other while they got back to the movie. It was right around the time of her favorite song, “Everybody Wants to be a Cat,” so she was smiling and humming along, already in much better spirits.

    “Uh. . . Well.” She started out. “He started acting all crazy and angry at me, claiming I’d cheated on him or something. I then asked if he’d taken his weed for the day, and he told me to shut up. That I was a bitch. That I needed to mind my own damn business and stay outta his or something bad just might happen to me.” Karkat stiffened slightly, causing Nepeta to look at him funny. He shook his head and urged her to continue, keeping his fears to himself.

    “I told him that I didn’t like how he was acting, that he was being weird and that it was scaring me.” She gulped slowly. “And then he said, “Well if you don’t like how I really am, maybe you shouldn’t all up and be datin’ me anymore.”” She sniffled, tears brimming her eyes again. She reached for the ice cream bucket again and started shoveling the frozen cookie dough bits into her mouth before continuing again. “So, I guess we broke up. And, I don’t know, it just made me feel even worse, ‘cause you know how Feferi and Jade are dating now and Roxy found some “amazingly cool” foreign guy over the internet and stuff? And then you’ve got a date an-”

    “Me? Have a date? Ha!” Karkat started cracking up. The thought was preposterous to him.

     Nepeta pouted, crossed her arms and slapped his arm with the back of her hand. “Yes, you have a date. With that Dave guy.”

    Karkat froze, going from hysterics to “oh shit is this a horror movie and is the killer literally right behind me right now” still.

    “What.” It wasn’t a question.

    “His roommate called for him,” she pointed to where Karkat had left his phone on the coffee table the night before. “saying that he was too much of a wimp to do it himself.” Nepeta explained.

    “And y’know what? He sounded just like Sollux, lisp and all. Isn’t that funny?” she attempted to make him laugh, but he was too far gone.

    _A date._ He thought to himself. _No phone call for weeks and all of a sudden I’m going on a date with him?_

    “Oh, and you’d better hurry up and get ready. He said that he’s coming by around four.” Nepeta’s sad, tear chocked voice had melted away into a mischievous tone. Nothing cheered her up like messing with her roommate.

    His head shot around to stare at her. “What time is it now?”

    Nepeta lazily pulled her smart phone out of her pajama pocket. “Hmmm. . . About, three forty-five.” She showed him the screen.

    “ _AAAAAaaaaaahh!_ ” Karkat screeched as he stood up from the couch and sprinted to his room. Nepeta was left on the couch, laughing her ass off. All thoughts of tears had long since subsided. “I’ll never forgive you for this!” he shouted out to her from his bedroom.

    “I know!” she called back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> first off, I know I'm a total dick bag for no updating when I promised i would!   
> I ' M S O R R Y !!  
> okay, next,  
> I'm editing some of the older chapters as best I can. Not a whole lot's gonna change, just some mistakes I made here and there that's hopefully going to make it easier for newer readers to understand.  
> I'm sorry if this chapter and others seem pretty bad or have sudden mood swings; this is currently the only thing that I'm writing these days and I feel like I'm getting out of practice.


	12. Not an Update, Somebody Drew Me Fan art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh My God, SOMEBODY DREW FANART FOR THIS!!!  
> It was one of my friends, Kath, that I talk to all the time about this stuff omg holy shit she actually drew art for it!!  
> GO CHECK HER OUT ON TUMBLR! HER USERNAME IS  
> kathcantdraw  
> please go support her, omg!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the link to her tumblr, btw!  
> http://kathcantdraw.tumblr.com/  
> I never ever thought that anybody'd want to draw fan art for one of my fan fictions, even if she is a friend!


	13. Awkward Back-in-the-Swing-of-Things-but-Not-Really Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave picks Karkat up for a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how about this:  
> anticipate a sunday update, expect a Monday update, okay?  
> especially since my teachers decided, "hey, let's give them tons more homework, especially since spring break is coming up" and the doctors taking care of my little sister decided, "hey, lets keep her here a while longer and make sure her mom doesn't leave ever because otherwise the kid's gonna get anxious"  
> and now my grandma is forced to leave her vacation down in Florida and has to fly up here to take care of me and my older sister.  
> shit's fucked at my house, guys. sorry if it leaks into the story

**Karkat’s POV:**

    Dating was not typically Karkat’s thing.

    He’d tried it in high school and even the beginning of college, but it’d just never worked out for him. Most of the time the person he went out with was either somebody who he became close best friends with, like Jade, or they just wanted a quick fuck and a note taped on the fridge saying “Thanks for last night, see ya never.”

    However, there was something about Dave that made Karkat pray to god he was different.

    Even though they’d already slept together and that should have been warning enough that he was in for more heartbreak, Karkat still found himself scrambling to fix his hair into a somewhat manageable state while sprinting out the door to wait on the curb for Dave to show up.

    Somehow, he’d managed to find a suitable outfit to wear for a date, at least by his standards.

    A pale greyish blue button up shirt with a brown sweatshirt over it, a pair of comfortable jeans and his trusty black vans. He thought he looked casual, but nice.

    At least he did until he saw the ruby red mustang convertible come rolling around the corner, a blonde haired boy at the wheel. Suddenly, what he’d chosen to wear felt incomprehensibly dull. He chewed on the inside corner of his mouth as his shoulders protectively started climbing up near his neck.

    However, once he was actually seated in the car next to Dave, he saw that his “date” was wearing something similarly average looking. With a small sigh of relief, Karkat smiled at him and buckled up.

**Dave’s POV:**

    _Hoooly shit, okay, okay, okayokayokayokay, you’ve got this, just relax. Shit, nobody’s said anything for a while now. Uh, do I turn down the radio? Do I talk over it and ask him how he is? Fuck, I haven’t been on a date since high school!_ Dave’s brain was running a million miles per second.

    While silently contemplating whether he should thank or murder Sollux later on, Karkat had turned down the radio and looked to him, seemingly ready to talk.

    “Hey, so my roommate told me that the person who’d called her in place of you to set up this. . . “date.”” Karkat said it kind of awkwardly, but coughed and continued. “Uh, she said it sounded like a close friend of ours, Sollux. Do you know him?”

    Dave perked up a bit and nodded.

    “Yeah, he’s the dick I’ve got to live with.” Dave chuckled, trying to play it off like he was joking while not actually joking in the slightest. “But wait, that wasn’t you on the phone earlier?”

    Karkat shook his head.

    “No. I was at work until three thirty, at least.”

    Dave raised an eyebrow at this, quickly scanning Karkat’s outfit and deciding that there was almost no possible way that he could make himself look that good in just thirty short minutes. Unless he was like, the Flash or something.

    “Huh. Well, alright then. Glad you had enough time to get out here.” Dave offered a small smile to Karkat which was quickly returned.

    “Uhmmmm.” Karkat hummed quietly to himself.

    “” Uhmm” what?” Dave mimicked Karkat.

    “I-I was just going to ask if Sollux is doing okay. I haven’t been able to talk to him for a while so I was curious.” Karkat explained himself.

    Dave glanced over at him again and answered, “He’s doing pretty okay. He’s acing all of his classes, and keeping up his hacking career pretty well. He’s even got a boyfriend, if you can believe it.” Dave smirked. _Nobody_ who’d ever had the displeasure of spending more than five minutes with Captor would believe that he was honestly dating some rich kid like Eridan. But Dave had the horrifying nightmares of finding them fucking on the sofa to prove it.

    “Really?” Karkat asked incredulously. His eyebrows were arched high. “Who?”

    “Some fuckin’ spoiled-ass rich kid.” Dave mumbled out, concentrating on making a difficult turn. Karkat chuckled beside him, covering his mouth with one of his hands. “What?” Dave asked, wondering what was so funny about what he’d said.

    “Sorry, sorry.” Karkat waved his hand in Dave’s direction. “It’s just, well, based off of the car you’re driving, most people would assume _you’re_ a “spoiled-ass rich kid.” Especially considering you’re still in college and most college students can hardly afford taxi-fair.”

    Dave rolled his eyes behind his shades and explained that the reason he was able to afford such a car was because a long distant relative died and left him his crummy old mustang that Dave was forced to spend most of his high school life fixing up. The gas money and random things that it needed fixed were paid for by his rich mom/technically-sister-in-law.

    Karkat’s eyes widened at the story. “Wow.” He said. He looked down at the nice leather seat he was in and the well put together parts of the car and looked up at Dave again. “You do nice work. It looks fantastic compared to how you described it looked before.”

    Dave smiled a little bit and thanked the brunette for the compliment.

    “So, uh. Are we actually planning on going somewhere, or are we just going to drive around until we eventually get bored with each other’s company?” Karkat asked.

    Dave chuckled and shot Karkat a side glance. “Yeah, I’ve got someplace planned. But you’ve got to wait.”

    “Alriiiiiiiight. . .?” Karkat dragged out the syllable.

**Karkat’s POV:**

    He didn’t know why it hadn’t before, but Karkat suddenly realized that he was driving around with a stranger, someone he’d met a total of twice. How did he know that he wasn’t leading him into a dangerous trap?

    _He knows Sollux though. Sollux set up the damn date itself, he wouldn’t do that unless Dave was a good guy._ Karkat assured himself.

    _Or maybe. . ._

    Karkat’s heart stopped dead in its tracks and sped up a million times faster than before.

    _Maybe he’s mad at me because I haven’t been checking in and I haven’t been showing up to see how he and Tavros and Aradia are doing oh my god would he really set me up with a psychopath well he always has been passive aggressive in the past especially when it comes to me but oh god I never thought it’d end like this by the hands of a serial killer my brother sent after me._

    “Hey, are you okay?” Dave’s voice sounded next to him. Karkat lurched upwards in his seat, the seatbelt strapped across his chest digging into his neck harshly with the exaggerated movement. It was then that he realized the car had stopped moving. In front of them sat a small dinner. The neon sign out front read “Bergy’s” in bright red letters. The front windows looked straight in to the seating area and Karkat had to admit, it looked pretty cozy. The convertible was not his first choice of a winter car, even if the top had been down.

    “We’re here, but you don’t look so good.” Dave’s eyebrows were creased together above his shades, revealing concern. “Do you want me to drive you back home?”

    Karkat wanted to punch himself in the face repeatedly for letting his anxiety get the best of him.

    “No, no. You don’t have to do that. It’s just, uh, predate nerves is all.” He said quickly. “I haven’t been on a date in a long time.” He admitted.

    Dave’s concerned face suddenly cracked and he was smiling gently at Karkat.

    “Oh. Well, then if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t been on a date in a long time either.”

    Karkat’s eye shifted slightly to the left to avoid blushing at the incredible sight that was Dave Strider genuinely smiling at him.

    “Hm. Then let’s be awkward back-in-the-swing-of-things-but-not-really dates together.” Karkat giggled.

    “I’d like that.” Dave answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I wanted to ask if you'd all still be interested if I kept this story going. I'm not sure what other situations or problems I could nessecarily add, but if you guys so asked, I'm sure I could come up with something. Its just. . .  
> i'm not quite sure where to go from here.  
> please comment what you think, if you can, and yeah.  
> See ya next week.


	14. Hiatus

Hey guys. No this isn't the next chapter. And as you may have noticed, last week there wasn't a chapter either.

and i want to apologize once more for doing this. 

Uhm. . . So, I have to tell you about something that's going on with me that makes it difficult to write...

I have depression. 

I know, i know, a lot of fanfiction writers (unfortunately) have it and I've seen far too many stories be abandoned because the author was just getting down on themselves. Well, I want to assure you, that's not going to happen here. 

I just need a tiny little break. Like, seriously, it's gonna be minuscule. 

Next week is my spring break and I hope to be back to my usual writing by then. I may even write multiple chapters so that if i'm late on an update i have NO EXCUSES.

But yeah. I just wanted to give you guys a reason why and also a little bit of a factoid about my life and why I'm not always going to update immediately.

Have a great day!  
See ya guys next week!


	15. Not an actual chapter

hey guys. . . .

well, it certainly has been a while, huh?  
what, a little over a month or so? 

yeah.

Long time to be away.

I wanted to tell you guys what's been going on really quickly. 

First off, my little sister is doing much, much better. She is at home now and is over 100 pounds again!

School's been getting more difficult and i have my standardized tests coming up and such, but I can deal with it.

I know i said I'd try to get a new chapter out this past spring break, but I've been kind of working through a writer's block. . .  
and, I guess, you could also call it a mental block.

Writing hasnt' been easy for me as of late and everything i put on the page doesn't seem to be good enough. Also, I've kind of come across a fatal flaw in my "perfect life plan"

Uhm, my family doesn't have much money, and since my older sister has a disability, she can't work. So it's all up to my mom. Well, my mom and me.   
I was hoping that next year i could do high school part time and work part time since my school has a program where you can get school credits for working. I've long since realized that my dream of becoming a writer isn't realistic, but every time i mention it, my mom goes ballistic

telling me i have "too much talent to just throw it away"

but i already am.

i think giving up my dream has somewhat altered my inspiration to write. 

I'm not dropping this fic. 

you just may notice more pauses in between the chapters and the quality of the writing vary from chapter to chapter. 

I'll hopefully be posting the next chapter later this week.

See ya then

(wow, god i'm such trash for dumping this on you i'm so sorry, god i suck)


	16. Cute Dates and Oh God, Please Take Me Seriously

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave and Karkat are enjoying their date, but what's this?  
> Oh shit. . .

**Dave’s POV:**

   Before either of them knew it, the analog clock that sat above the door said eight o’clock and they were the only ones sitting there with cold French fries, flat soda and grins on their faces.

   “So, wait, wait, wait, my sister’s dating your friend?” Dave asked.

   Karkat was laughing so much he couldn’t speak, so he just nodded his head. Dave decided that he was now officially in love with Karkat((wouldn’t it be so great if the sentence just ended here?))’s laugh. The way it shook his entire body, the way his nose wrinkled up in just the right place so that his eyes looked like they were closed. God, it was so adorable.

   “That’s insane!” Dave said for what had to be the thirteenth time that night. Karkat couldn’t stop laughing for the life of him. “No, for real. This is no laughing matter.” Dave tried to compose himself and act serious.

   Karkat clamped his hands over his mouth, trying to stifle his giggles for fear he was creating a scene.

   “Dude, this is  _ insane _ . How could we have gone on so long without knowing one another?” he slowly pondered this before shoving some more fries into his mouth.

   “Well, I don’t know about you, but I knew you existed a long time ago. I just never cared to meet you.” Karkat smirked and somehow managed to look down his nose at Dave despite being considerably shorter.

   “Aw, for real? That hurts, bro. Right here, in my lung.” Dave put his hand over his chest and feigned injury, patting his hand a couple of times right over where his left lung would be.

   “You’re so weird, oh my god.” Karkat chuckled out, shaking his head and closing his eyes again.

   “You love it.” Dave smirked and leaned over the table.

   “Riiiight. If that’s what you want to call it, then sure.” Karkat crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward too.

   “I don’t appreciate that sass, mister.” Dave put on his fake preschool teacher scolding voice that he’d used when he and Karkat had first met. “Will I have to send you down to the principal’s office?” He teased.

   Karkat chuckled and glanced back up at the clock. His jumped, moving back from his date, much to his displeasure. “Shit, you probably should. I told Nep to call the police if I wasn’t home by nine.” Karkat began to stand up, grabbing their tray and dumping the left over contents into the trash can.

   Dave sat still, watching Karkat work his way back to their table and snatch up his hand. “C’mon.” Karkat pulled him out of his seat with much struggle.

   “But I don’t waaannaaa. . .” Dave pouted, drapping himself all over Karkat and trying to slow him down.

   They made it to the car however and Karkat was eventually driven home.

   Dave walked him up to the front step of his apartment building, still grinning like an idiot.

   “So, uh, y-you want to do this again?” Dave asked, nervously clenching and unclenching his fists, concentrating on keeping his face a blank slate.

   Karkat’s smile grew to a smirk that made Dave’s anxiety levels spike exponentially. 

   Slowly, he leaned forward to kiss Dave’s cheek before gently pulling away and beaming again. 

   “I’d really like that.” He responded. 

   Dave swears he didn’t blush, but honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if he looked redder than Mickey Mouse’s shorts.

   They both agreed to text each other in the morning and as Dave slipped back into the driver’s seat of his car, he couldn’t help himself and let out a joyful “Yes!” Before starting the engine and pulling away from the curb.

 

**Aradia’s POV:**

   “Run!” Tavros shouted through clenched teeth, his face curled in agony. Aradia’s body felt like it was running, like it was doing what he told her, like with every step she took she was getting further and further away from those criminals. But her brain felt rooted to the spot, staring down at what they were doing to possibly one of the only people left in her life.

   Prosthetic legs gone.

_ Run. _

   Blood dripping from his hands, his head, his nose, his mouth.

_ Run. _

   Tears muting the bright chocolate brown of his eyes.

_  Run! _

   Hands clenched into fists, knuckles pressed into the concrete, bound to leave little dimples and holes splayed across the dark brown skin.

_ RUN! _

 

   What was she going to do?

   Call 911?

   They took her phone and besides, nobody would get there in time to do any good.

   Get the attention of a bystander?

   It was the dead of night and the streets were absurdly vacant; nobody would be able to help.

   Go to the police station?

   Even though it was a good 16 blocks to get there, it was her best option. She began to sprint as hard as she could, fear and adrenaline powering her. 

   The cold wind yanked on her clothes, tearing her hijab from her head and pulling her skirt taunt against her legs, making it increasingly more and more difficult to run. Deciding that a lack of modesty was something she was willing to risk in this moment of life or death, she took two large handfuls of her skirt and lifted it above her knees. Gripping the fabric in her hands, she forced herself to run faster.

   Would the police station even take her seriously?

   She prayed they would.

_ They have to. . . _

   She thought to herself as she spotted the lights of the police station shining brightly in front of her.

_ They have to. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Aradia's Muslim because, why not?  
> I have yet to read a book where one of the characters is Muslim and the story does not center around it.  
> (also like, no fanfictions have any of our characters as Muslim, which I just find unlikely)  
> I have done a bit of research on Islam, but if I get anything wrong please, please tell me and I will immediately correct it.  
> Also. . .  
> Homestucks over.  
> (never gonna stop writing fanfictions though heh heh)


	17. Late Night Pick-Ups, Steven Universe, and Painted Nails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which nepeta picks aradia up from the station,  
> steven universe is watched  
> nails are painted  
> and nothing is explained. . .  
> enjoy!

**Nepeta’s POV:**

   The telephone was ringing almost obnoxiously loud, rousing the peacefully sleeping girl from her slumber. Yawning tiredly, Nepeta clumsily crawled her way out of her covers and off of the couch where she had fallen asleep after Karkat had gone off on his date. 

   Even though the phone was on the kitchen counter, just a few short feet away, it stopped ringing before she could reach it. Groaning softly, she turned back around to lay down again. “Stupid freaking phones and calls at. . .” she squinted at the digital clock on the DVD player. “11 pm. Dang it, I’ve got wooork tomorroow. . .” she whined quietly, not wanting to stir Karkat awake. Despite the fact that he almost never got to sleep due to, in his own words, “the gods of this universe and the next dooming him to forever suffer and eventually die of sleep deprivation” if you woke him up from his sleep he actually wouldn’t yell. The first time Nepeta had slept over at his place and accidentally woken him up, he was startlingly calm.

   She mused over the fact that he behaved like a tired toddler, too exhausted from play to argue over going to bed. 

   She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone started ringing again.

   She lurched for it, desperate to not miss the call this time around. 

_ Weird. _ She thought to herself. The caller ID read Cherokee Bay Police Department.  _ Is it purrhaps Jake? But why would he be calling me so late at night? _ She knew perfectly well that Jake was a valued member of their police department, but had no idea why on Earth he’d be calling she and Karkat of all people. Though. . .

   Wasn’t Karkat’s adoptive family associated with some pretty nasty gang stuff?

   Suddenly worried, Nepeta hit answer.

   “Hello?” she asked quietly.

_ “Nepeta?” _

   Her eyes widened in shock.

**Aradia’s POV:**

   Not even ten minutes later, Aradia was sitting in the passenger seat of Nepeta’s pick up truck. 

   The girls embraced tightly. “Thank you, you’re an angel. . .” Aradia murmured into Nepeta’s shoulder, eyes starting to water again.

   Nepeta pulled back, smiling pitifully. “Nah, I’m just a friend doing what friends do.” She shrugged, turning to face the wind shield, starting the car up. Aradia smiled to herself, quietly thanking Allah for blessing her with such a good friend. She twisted the cloth of her hijab between her fingers, relieved to have it back in her possession. Once Jake had seen her come in and had noticed her without her headscarf, he’d personally driven out to find it while a few of the women officers they had interrogated her to see what had happened. 

   She was somewhat surprised to find out how respectful they were of her religion, but then remembered that their chief of police was a Muslim himself.

   She shuddered horribly, the memories creeping their way up her spine.

   Nepeta noticed and glanced over at her, concerned to say the least. She placed a gentle hand on Aradia’s shoulder, rubbing it slightly.

   “Do you want to talk about it, or. . .?” She trailed off, unsure. 

   Aradia shook her head. 

  “Uhm, no. No, I. . . I don’t really want to think about it right now actually.” Aradia said shakily, eyes downcast to her lap.

   Nepeta nodded in understanding and focused on driving once more.

   Aradia noticed that she was wearing her PJ’s, only her favorite neon green jacket covering them.

   “Did I wake you up?” Aradia asked worriedly.

   Nepeta made a face at her. “Nah. I mean, yeah, kinda. But don’t worry about it.” She looked over at her and grinned. “You’re family, right?” 

   Aradia’s eyebrows were still knit with concern, but she found herself smiling along. “Yeah.” she said quietly.

   “Family.”

Karkat’s POV:

   Karkat awoke to the sounds of giggling coming from the living room. 

   Moaning in complaint, he struggled to lift himself out of bed. 

   Even though he’d gotten home earlier than he normally did, it urked him to be woken up by anything other than his alarm clock. Still though, he dragged himself out of bed and stumbled into the living room, only to find three big surprises.

   One of them being the insanely attractive shade-clade douche he’d gone on a date with last night, another being the deep maroon red of his sister’s favorite hijab. . .

   And the last being all of them, including Nepeta, sitting around the coffee table, watching Steven Universe and painting their nails.

   “Oh, hey Kitkat.” Dave smirked at him, shaking his hands out for his nails to dry. Karkat blinked at him, shocked to see him here so soon. He felt Dave’s eyes scan over him. “Nice boxers.” he commented. 

   He looked down only to see the clothes he’d fallen asleep in; his grey and black striped boxers and favorite oversized lazy shirt. Growling lowly, he pulled the hem of his shirt over his underwear, glaring angrily over at the blonde. Though all heat from his gaze was lost to the bright red of his cheeks and the cute little pout he was pulling off. He looked over at the girls to find Aradia shielding her face from him and Nepeta straight up rolling on the floor laughing.

   “Karkat, please. . . You’re indecent. . .” Aradia mumbled, a smile evident in her voice. 

   He scoffed and rolled his eyes,  promptly plopping himself onto the couch behind them. “Don’t care.” he scowled, but still took extra care to sit behind her so as not to make her too uncomfortable. 

   He turned his attention back over to Dave. 

   “So why’re you here?” he asked, curiously. 

   Dave shrugged, still waving his hands back and forth. He turned away from the TV as an infomercial for some dumbass balloon balls came on, crossing his legs in a way that allowed him to look up at Karkat while still technically facing the TV. 

   “You forgot your jacket in my car.” he explained simply. 

   Karkat bought it, finding it a suitable enough reason to come over. He did recall being unusually cold later that night. But something didn’t seem right.

   “How’d you get our apartment number?” he asked. 

   Dave chuckled and looked down almost guiltily. “I, uh. I got Sollux to text Eridan, who then texted Roxy, who texted Nepeta to get it.” he explained. Karkat blinked at him again, surprised. “Yeah, I know, it sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.” 

   He looked down at his hands and smiled at the nails. “Well, well, looks like Neppy  _ does _ have some talent in painting nails.” He held up his fingers for Karkat to see the hot pink color they’d been died. The short brunette laughed and rolled his eyes, secretly thinking to himself,  _ Oh my fucking god, why is he so cute? _

   It wasn’t until much later, when Dave said he had to leave, that he and Karkat were finally alone, riding the elevator together. 

   “Hey, uh, is Aradia really your sister?” he asked.

   “Yeah, adoptive. We were taken in by the same family.” Karkat explained. 

   “Huh.” Dave paused for a moment or two, letting another floor pass by. “I don’t think she liked me very much. . .” Dave murmured. 

   Karkat looked at him. “What gives you that impression?”

   “Well, she didn’t really talk to me a whole lot and didn’t seem to want to interact with me a whole lot. . .” Dave trailed off.

   Karkat shook his head. 

   “She’s just shy around guys. Don’t worry about it.”

   “You sure?” Dave asked.

   “Positive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeyyyyyy.. .  
> guess who woke up at three a.m. thinking it was six (somehow)?  
> This dweeeeeeb!  
> and by the time i noticed, i was already in an ice cold shower (my air conditioner's busted and repairs dont start til the end of may) and waaay too awake to go back to sleep  
> sooooo  
> sorry if this sucks, i apologize profusely i literally just wrote it


	18. Snowball Fights and Whoops, How'd That Get There?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where they cheer each other up, you're still left in the dark, I'm late with updating and I didn't mean for it to end the way it did sorry.

Nepeta’s POV:  
Aradia’s eyes sparkled with tears, her head hung low and her hands clenched tight in her lap. Nepeta’s own vision was blurred, fear and concern building up in her chest and choking her airway. Is Tavros okay? Did the police find them? Does your dad know? Does the rest of the Midnight Crew know? How many other people have you told about this?  
Question after question burned their way into Nepeta’s mind, begging for her to blurt them out and demand answers. But she didn’t.   
She had a feeling her friend had been interrogated enough the night before and instead leaned forward to envelope her in a hug. She hoped it was comforting enough.  
She locked eyes with Karkat over Aradia’s shoulder. His expression was unreadable.  
He averted his gaze to the coffee table, blinking slowly.  
Nepeta pulled away from the hug and placed a hand on Aradia’s arm.   
“Do you want some hot chocolate?” she asked. It was the only thing she could think to offer by means of comfort. Even though Equius’ health freak habits had begun to rub off on her, she still kept a large tin of cocoa mix on top of the fridge since it was one of the only foods she’d ever had the pleasure of drinking that comforted her every single time. Well, besides ice cream.  
Aradia nodded slowly, still keeping her head down.  
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Nepeta stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. “Karkat, do you want any?” she asked him, pausing by the back of the couch. He was still staring at the coffee table, like he was trying to bore a hole in it.  
“Karkat?” Nepeta asked again. He jumped slightly, turning back towards her.  
“Huh?” he asked, dazed.  
“I asked if you’d want any hot cocoa.”  
“Oh, uh.” He tilted his head slightly. “No thanks. I’m good.”   
“Okay.” Nepeta responded, finally walking all the way into the kitchen. As she crawled her way onto the counter next to the fridge in order to reach the top, she silently questioned to herself why Karkat was acting so odd.   
She, of course, took into consideration that he’d just found out that his brother could possibly be dead somewhere and that this was basically a declaration of war on his entire family, but still. Normally, he’d be up in arms. Standing up and screaming, shouting at them that they needed to get home now and aid his family in beating the fuck out of whoever dared to mess with them. But he was just sitting there, numb and still. Like he’d already accepted defeat.  
Sighing slightly, her fingers wrapped tightly around the tin and she carefully edged her way down the counter again. Her secret stash of cocoa was kept safe by the sheer shortness of her roommate.   
Setting the kettle on the stove, she waited impatiently for it to boil.  
Aradia’s POV:  
I shouldn’t have told them. I should’ve waited. Wait, why should I have waited? Tavros was just as close to them as he was to me, they had every right to know.   
Was.  
Aradia lifted her hands to her face and let out a strained sob as she realized she’d just thought of her brother in the past tense.  
Karkat’s hand was rested on her shoulder in no time.  
She leaned into his touch, willingly accepting whatever comfort he could offer. But instead of whispering softly to her, telling her that it’s okay, everything’ll be fine, that Tavros is okay, nothing will happen, he just held her. He let her sob and cry and gag on the lump in her throat and mumble over and over again, “Please protect him, please protect him, please, oh, please, protect him.”  
She only wished she could pull herself together long enough to thank him and let him do the same.  
Nepeta’s POV:  
It was a few hours later, after they’d all calmed down a bit, cried together, and sat in silence for a long while when Nepeta stood up with a “plan.”  
“I hate seeing you two so sad and teary eyed. So I want us to get out. Go for a walk, enjoy nature and forget about all of this for a little while. We don’t know if Tavros is. . .” she paused slightly, hoping they caught her drift about the word she was avoiding. She cleared her throat. “We don’t know if that’s happened yet, so there’s really no point in worrying about it until we’re sure.” she explained, tugging her coat over her baggy t-shirt. None of them had decided to even try to dress appealingly. Nepeta’s dark grey t-shirt and baggy sweatpants complimented Karkat’s ugly orange sweater and black jeans that just barely hung on his hips.  
Karkat and Aradia surprisingly agreed easily, joining her on a walk around the city in total silence.  
It wasn’t until they reached a little park a few blocks away that they began to honestly talk.  
“It’s so cold out.” Karkat commented, rubbing his arms absent-mindedly.  
“Yeah.” Aradia agreed, picking her way through the puddles on the ground. “But it’s still warming up.” She pointed to the muck-filled water surrounding her.   
“Clearly.” Nepeta noted sarcastically, her lip hitching its way up in disgust. She was originally born on a little tree farm far away from any cities or pollution. But her parents had decided to move due to most of their trees dying because of some disease. Even so, her love of nature had stuck with her, making her sad to see so much mucky, oily water be absorbed by the Earth.  
“But still.” Karkat interrupted her thoughts, kicking a piece of frozen mud off of the top of a melting snowbank near the side-walk. “I wish it’d warm up quicker. I can’t stand how cold it gets.”  
“Karkat, didn’t we live in Minnesota for a while?” Aradia giggled, reminding him of the three years they’d lived in the frozen state. The Midnight Crew had decided to get out of town for a while after they’d just adopted Karkat, Aradia, Tavros and Sollux, claiming they didn’t want to raise their kids in such a dangerous environment. But even so, when it was time for them to start school, they were moved right back.  
“Yeah, but that was a really long time ago. We’re adults now and I reserve my right to complain about the weather and how it affects my joints.” he snapped back, no real venom in his voice. His companions both chuckled.  
They continued to wander around the park, listening to the caw of distant crows and the sweet little chirping of the chickadees, the only two birds dumb enough to stick around in the winter. The methodic crunch of the snow beneath their feet may have been the reason why Karkat didn’t even notice Nepeta stoop down to the ground to curl a snowball between her fingers.   
That is, he didn’t notice until it was already too late and a large cold ball of ice came hurtling into his shoulder.   
He stopped in his tracks, eyes still trained on the ground. Aradia put a hand to her mouth, trying - and might I add, failing - to stifle her laughter. Nepeta reached for a high five that was ultimately met.   
Karkat turned towards the two, fury on his face.   
Both girls stopped in their childish rejoicing to stare at him.   
“Run?” Nepeta asked.  
“Run.” Karkat responded before suddenly bursting into a mad dash towards them. The girls started giggling, sprinting as fast as they could while simultaneously trying to dodge the poorly thrown snowballs Karkat was making as they ran.  
Nepeta thought back to when they were kids and said to herself, This is how things are supposed to be.  
Tavros’s POV:  
It was cold. And dark.  
The air around him seemed to have a bite to it, the way snow did when it came into contact with bare human skin for too long.   
Tavros couldn’t see where he was. It was too dark. And too cold to move. Where even was he?  
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approaching met his ears.  
“H-hel-lo?” he stuttered out, his teeth chattering.   
No response.  
The steady beat of heavy shoes hitting the ground, practiced and important, continued towards him.   
“P-p-please. . . . please h-help m-m-me.” Tavros whimpered, pathetically raising a hand.   
Pain sliced up his arm when his hand was mercilessly kicked aside. He yelped and cradled it to his chest, eyes stinging with tears again.  
“Sorry kid,” a gravely voice echoed off of the walls. “But I ain’t got time to help ya, seein’ as I’m gonna have to be, y’know, fuckin’ ya up a lil’ bit? Try an’ understand, this is all strictly business.”  
Tavros looked up, trying to see the face of this man.  
“Nothin’ personal, right?”  
A loud clang.  
He was vaguely aware of blood dripping down his face, but every part of his body felt like it was floating away as everything went black and silent once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, i'm a piece of shit.  
> I'm so sorry for skipping last week. A lot's been happening in my life and thing's have been crazy and a little insane.  
> I won't go into detail about it, but the basics of it are:  
> I found out I'm bigendered  
> I'm trying to find out how to actually transition into it without raising red flags  
> I'm failing most of my classes  
> my little sister is refusing to go to school  
> and  
> All of my friends are suicidal....  
> so, yeah.  
> But here you go, the next chapter i hope it wasn't too shitty  
> see ya next week!


	19. Wow I Suck Oh My God I'm So Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Platonic cuddles and really tragic flash backs occure

**Karkat’s POV:**

   It was agony. 

   Lying awake, staring up at the ceiling, knowing full well that somebody he’d grown up protecting was far out of his reach now. 

   Too far away and too lost for him to save anymore.

   He knew Aradia and Sollux undoubtedly felt the same way, like they’d all somehow failed Tavros, but it didn’t make him feel any less isolated in his emotions.

   A timid knock sounded from the door. 

   Karkat glanced at his clock quickly; _3:46_ _AM_.

   “Come in.” he whisper shouted to the person on the other side, watching the volume of his voice, since Aradia was sleeping on the couch just a few short feet away in the living room.

   The door creaked open a crack and two green eyes peeked in, bloodshot from lack of sleep and puffy from all the tears cried. Over the past few days it had felt as if everyone were already grieving Tavros’ death. Even Nepeta, the bright hope in this dark time seemed to have burned out, giving up and mourning along with the rest of them. 

   Karkat awkwardly shuffled his body to the far side of his mattress, his back pressed firmly up against the wall. He patted the now open space in front of him, inviting his petite roommate to climb in.

   She closed the door quietly behind her before padding across the carpeted floor and slipping her way under his comforter, facing him. He took one of her hands in his, the other pulling the blanket even closer around them. 

   Neither one spoke. 

   They didn’t need to.

   Karkat swears he’s never been and never will be closer with anyone than his was with Nepeta.

   The memories they shared, the way they could just slip around each other easily in the mornings, the way they shared interests and ideas without ever having to worry about annoying the other. The way that one could just crawl into the other’s bed one night and not be questioned at all. 

   And especially the way they could just lay in each other’s company and feel comforted.

   “Karkat?” Nepeta chirped out softly, scooting forward a bit to hug him close.

   “Yeah?” he asked just as quietly.

   “Do you think Tavros is dead?”

   Silence wafted over them.

   He squeezed her tightly in his arms, watching the clock slowly move time forward.

   “I don’t know.” he said.

   It was a cowardly move, they both knew it.

   It was the easiest thing to say, rather than admitting he thought one of their closest friends was going to die or lying to her that he thought Tavros was going to make it.

   Silence once again blanketed them.

   It was a long while before anyone spoke.

   “Do you remember when Tavros was first paralyzed?” she asked, hiding her face under the covers so that only her eyes were shown to Karkat.

   Karkat nodded mutely.

   “None of us really believed that he would make it. . .” she murmured, her voice getting even quieter, if that was possible. 

   Once again, Karkat nodded. 

   He remembered that day well; the sick greasy panic that sat in the core of his body, wrapping its slick arms around his heart. He felt as though he himself would need to be hospitalized when he first saw Tavros there, broken and bloody on the hospital bed. It was unclear as to who had called the ambulance, but everyone knew who had done this to him.

    Karkat could still visualize it, every single one of their closest friends sitting in that one room. Some crying, some sitting by his side, some staring off into the distance, lost in the turmoil of their own thoughts. 

   Somehow, Tavros managed to recover.

   Slowly moving from that depressing hospital room to a wheelchair where he was able to begin his active life again. And eventually, getting his prosthetics, returning to him his precious ability to walk. 

   Despite the appearance of being weak, of being afraid and unable to be persuaded to do anything outside of his comfort zone, anybody who had known him as long and as intimately as Karkat had would know that he was probably the strongest and bravest person on the planet.

 

   Karkat brushed his fingers through Nepeta’s hair, returning to the present to find Nepeta drifting off to sleep. 

   He kissed her forehead and closed his own eyes, willing himself to sleep.

**Jane’s POV:**

   The newly baked batch of cookies sat cooling in the passenger seat next to her, heating the tin foil she’d wrapped around the plate to keep them warm. Her stomach tossed and turned with guilt as her tiny blue buggy hurdled her closer and closer to her best friends house.

   The best friend she hadn’t seen in two weeks. 

   The best friend she hadn’t been returning the texts or calls to.

   The best friend she was avoiding for fear of being blamed.

   Blamed for so many things Jane began to lose count.

   Jane tried her best to relax, taking a few deep breaths before parking her car and stepping out and making her way up the icy driveway. She hesitated slightly, her anxiety getting the best of her. Toying with her brain and convincing her that Roxy would be pissed, absolutely and positively furious with Jane for never visiting in these long few weeks of rehab, leaving the poor alcoholic alone to suffer.

   But she found herself knocking anyways, figuring it best to face the angry blonde now rather than later, allowing the rage to build up no further.

   It was her mom, Rita, who answered the door. Every time Jane saw her she continued to amaze the baker. Her long legs were emphasised by her black skin-tight leggings and knee high leather boots, giving her legs the illusion of stretching on forever. A warm looking oversized turtle-neck sweater covered her hips and arms, but left little to nothing to the imagination when it came to her chest. 

   Jane continuously wondered why Rita had never signed up for a modeling company. Even when she and Roxy were younger and would go out shopping with the tall woman, she would be approached by all kinds of modeling scouts, searching for the next big star to boost their popularity. But even then, Rita would politely decline and go about her way.

   “Ah, Jane!” she exclaimed, leaning down to hug the significantly smaller girl. “It feels like it’s been forever! How’ve you been?” she asked as she pulled away, ushering Jane in. Jane followed, toeing her sneakers off of her feet and leaving them by the doorway. 

   “Oh, well, pretty good, I guess. There’s nothing to complain about, I mean.” She shrugged, feeling slightly awkward, which was strange. She never felt awkward around Rita, who had behaved like a second mom to her and her younger siblings from day one.

   “Hm, well, that’s good to hear.” She nodded before pointing at the carpeted stairs near them. “Roxy’s been waiting for you. Just a head’s up though, Dirk’s here, too.” Rita smiled, winking stealthily at the blacked haired girl before slipping her way into the kitchen to do God knows what.

   Jane felt her cheeks heat the the temperature of the sun. Was her little crush  _ that  _ obvious to everyone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no excuse.  
> But, on the bright side, I'm out of school for a while and I will hopefully (ABSOLUTELY NO PROMISES WHATSOEVER) will be able to write a little more often.  
> Finding the inspiration to write just about anything these days has become nearly impossible.  
> But, i got this down for ya!   
> hope to see ya next chapter!


	20. I'm an asshole, i know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter update

I AM AN ASSHOLE I KNOW

I AM SO SORRY TOO

I have lost almost all inspiration for this story and I don't think I'll be working on it for a long, long while. 

I feel terrible about this, and I know how sucky it is to be waiting for a story to be updated only to find it being dropped. . .

well, not dropped, just left on hiatus for a long while. . .

I'm sorry. 

In other news, I may be starting another story!

Another Davekat, what else? And it'll probably be vastly different from this one. . .

so.

I hope your day is incredible and amazing and you eat your favorite food and hear some good news and get to listen to some really good music

bye for now!


End file.
